San Jose del Monte, Philippines - A majority of voters in the province of Bulacan have voted against converting the City of San Jose del Monte (SJDM) into a highly urbanized city (HUC), effectively putting to rest the initiative that had been set in motion by a presidential proclamation last year.
According to Philippines News Agency, the certificate of canvass of votes showed that out of 1,608,004 participants in Monday's plebiscite, 820,385 voted 'No' to the conversion. This number substantially outweighed the 620,707 voters who supported the measure. The plebiscite coincided with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and saw a turnout of 1,608,004 out of 2,092,248 registered voters in the province.
The move to convert SJDM into an HUC had been initiated through Proclamation 1057, issued by former president Rodrigo Duterte on December 4, 2020. The proclamation came after the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) of San Jose del Monte requested the conversion through Resolution 2019-059-09.
According to the stipulations under Section 452 of Republic Act (RA) 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, a city can be classified as an HUC if it has a minimum population of 200,000, as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and an annual income of at least PHP50 million based on 1991 constant prices, as certified by the City Treasurer. The proclamation had stated that SJDM met these minimum requirements.
San Jose del Monte, once the largest town in Bulacan in terms of land area and population, had been declared a component city on September 10, 2000, under Republic Act 8797. This week's vote represents a decisive voice from the province's electorate on the city's future status.