THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
The recent plebiscite conducted in the province of Bulacan was an interesting sidelight in this year’s Barangay-Sangguniang Kabataang Barangay Elections (BSKE).
In the plebiscite, Bulacan voters were asked whether or not they approved ratifying a proclamation signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte during his term, which recommended the conversion of one of the province’s component cities – San Jose del Monte – into a “Highly-urbanized City” or HUC.
Based on media reports, the “no” votes trounced the “yes” votes. By virtue of the rejection by the majority of Bulacan’s registered voters of the HUC proclamation, San Jose del Monte will remain a first-class component city of that history-rich province.
The victory of the “no” votes in the Bulacan plebiscite was a trending topic in social media for a couple of days after the counting. The interest of the public may have been stoked by the story behind the vote and the significance of that story to the concept of “The People’s Will.”
From our outsider’s viewpoint, the Bulacan plebiscite was Philippine democracy in full display. It was also proof that the Local Government Code and other pertinent laws of our land have created a political environment where the will of the people can be expressed freely, and the decision of the majority is upheld.
It also reminded us all that we do not operate in a vacuum, and that we have to understand that there are stakeholders to every action or decision we make and take. Their interests are affected by such decisions and actions. We must, therefore, include them in the decision-making process.
This principle was earlier underscored in the experience of the province of Nueva Ecija.
It will be recalled that in 2011, the Sanggunian of Cabanatuan City filed a resolution asking then-President Noynoy Aquino to declare the city an HUC. The President granted the request and issued the corresponding proclamation the following year.
In adherence to the provision of the Local Government Code, the Commission on Election (Comelec) scheduled a plebiscite – but exclusive to the voters of Cabanatuan, to the exclusion of the rest of Nueva Ecija. The poll body was then following a precedent: in converting the cities of Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, and Lapu-Lapu, only the residents of these cities took part in the plebiscite. The voters of their respective mother provinces were excluded from the process.
Governor Aurelio Umali, however, questioned the exclusion of the rest of the province in the plebiscite before the Comelec. He pointed out that the “proposed conversion (of Cabanatuan to HUC) will necessarily and directly affect the mother province of Nueva Ecija”, adding that the proposed conversion “will cause material change not only in the political and economic rights of the city and its resident but also of the province as a whole.”
The Comelec rejected Governor Umali’s position, so he brought the matter up before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Comelec resolution was null and void. The High Court upheld the position of Governor Umali and ruled that the conversion of Cabanatuan City to an HUC does have a significant impact on the political and economic rights of the province as a whole. The High Court ordered the poll body to include the residents of the entire province in the planned plebiscite.
The process, as defined with finality by the Supreme Court, shows that the will of the affected constituents is the ultimate determining factor in the conversion of a city into an HUC. While the President of the Philippines may issue a proclamation regarding such conversion, that proclamation will still have to be ratified by the people. It’s the people’s will over a presidential proclamation.
Proponents of conversion to HUC offer two advantages: independence from the mother province and economic prosperity. It is interesting that these two “selling points” are also usually the factors that make residents nix the idea. An example of this was the experience of Antipolo City. In 2011, a political cabal attempted to sell the idea of converting the city into an HUC. The group got then-President Aquino to issue the needed proclamation and then went to the city’s residents to convince them that “independence from the mother province” would help bring about “economic prosperity.”
It appeared that the idea was soundly rejected right at the consultative stage. The proponents of the idea were constrained to withdraw the move. They may have overlooked that the city’s voters could not be lured by an unproven and unsubstantiated promise of economic prosperity at the cost of unity. There are ties that cannot be sacrificed for material gain, and that includes the ties between a city and its mother province.
Interestingly, despite the lack of an HUC status, Antipolo has been consistently one of the country’s overall top most competitive, fastest-growing cities.
Another example is Tarlac City. In 2005, then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a proclamation for its conversion into an HUC. The city’s residents rejected the move to convert it. In the ensuing plebiscite, the “no” votes won overwhelmingly.
Today, Tarlac City is at the 13th spot on the list of the country’s most competitive component cities. It made a big jump from 36th to 13th in 2022.
Here is one process where it is clear that the people’s will is the single most important factor. ([email protected])