QUITAIN JR. (Ivy Tejano)
DAVAO CITY – A Davao City councilor has opened discussions on renaming the city’s 40 numbered barangays, particularly in the first district, to make them easier to identify.
Speaking at the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos forum on Tuesday, Sept. 23, Committee on City-Owned Real Properties Chairman Councilor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. said he has consulted barangay officials who agreed to rename their barangays but asked for more time to consult their assemblies before submitting recommendations to the Davao City Council in November.
“The barangay officials are set to present their recommendations to the committee in November after consulting their assemblies next month,” Quitain said.
Quitain said his committee has conducted a series of hearings with the city’s Legal Office, Engineer’s Office, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government on the renaming process.
The proposal, Quitain said, stemmed from recurring problems in deliveries and correspondence caused by barangays being identified only by numbers one to 40.
“Delivery services like Grab, LBC, or Food Panda often get confused and misdelivered items,” Quitain said, citing instances where a delivery rider mistakenly sent documents for his law office to another barangay.
The councilor said the idea to rename the barangays received positive feedback from residents on social media, confirming that confusion over numbered barangays was a shared concern in the city.
Quitain said that the final decision on barangay names will require the approval of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
He said they have sought guidelines from the NHCP on the requirements for renaming. He added that the law requires a plebiscite for any approved changes, with costs to be covered by the city government.
Quitain said the committee has requested formal legal opinions from the DILG and the City Legal Office to see the other possible options, especially since renaming the barangay is tedious.
He acknowledged that renaming barangays is not a priority compared to other pressing concerns in the city but Quitain said assigning temporary names —subject to NHCP approval — could help address these problems.
Quitain said the proposal to rename barangays was also one of the long-standing suggestions of his father, former City Administrator J. Melchor Quitain Sr.