San Juan prepares for plebiscite on town’s cityhood bid

Local officials of San Juan are busy preparing for a plebiscite for the ratification of a bill declaring the municipality a city.

San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor Ejercito said House Bill No. 5828 was forwarded last month to Malacañang for President Arroyo’s signature but the latter failed to sign it before its March 8 deadline yesterday.

Ejercito said they are now coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to expedite the implementation of a plebiscite, which would allow residents to decide to accept or reject San Juan’s bid for cityhood.

The bill was filed by San Juan’s Rep. Ronny Zamora and successive hearings led to its passage to the Senate in September 2004.

An elated Ejercito said cityhood would open more opportunities for San Juan and its residents.

"It would attract more investors and bring more employment opportunities to my constituents," said the mayor, noting that San Juan met all the requirements for its conversion into a city.

The San Juan’s cityhood bid marks the town’s upcoming 100th anniversary on March 27. San Juan is composed of 21 barangays, and is nestled in central Metro Manila.

San Juan stands out as one of the most progressive municipalities in the country, making it to the top in the statistical surveys conducted by the Commission on Audit and National Statistics Coordinating Body (NSCB).

The NSCB report revealed that San Juan has the lowest poverty incidence in the country in the municipal level, with 2.92 percent of its population.

In the Commission on Audit’s Financial Highlights of Local Government Units for the Fiscal Year 2005 report, San Juan also emerged to have the highest gross income.

Ejercito attributed the major strides in the Metro Manila town to the booming business sector, adding that Greenhills remains San Juan’s main commercial source of revenue.