Panabo folk okay cityhood

DAVAO CITY – Residents of the Davao del Norte town of Panabo, about 35 kilometers from this city, voted overwhelmingly in favor of cityhood in a plebiscite last Saturday.

The cityhood measure got 18,867 Yes votes as against 1,730 No votes.

Panabo is considered the banana capital of Southern Mindanao where most of the region’s banana plantations are located.

Davao del Norte second district Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. described the plebiscite results as a triumph for development. The Floirendos own a large banana plantation in Panabo under their Tadeco group of companies, although parts of it have been turned over to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

With cityhood, residents are expecting an influx of investments, especially with Panabo’s strategic location near this city, the leading growth center in this part of the country, and a fourfold increase in internal revenue allotment from the present P60 million to at least P240 million. — Edith Regalado