Friday, 04 December 2009 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
The Municipality of Dasmariñas is now the fourth City of Cavite. The plebiscite voting was held at the Dasmariñas Municipal Hall on November 25. The counting of votes ended in the morning of the following day.
The Province of Cavite has 23 municipalities and cities including the three cities of Cavite, Tagaytay and Trece Martires and the fourth and newest city, Dasmariñas.
Dasmariñas is a first-class city located on the northeastern part of Cavite along the eastern provincial parts of Laguna and is 30 kilometers away from Manila.
Home to a number of industrial estates and several universities, the city is bounded on the north by the municipality of Imus, on the east by the municipality of General Mariano Alvarez, on the south by Silang and on the west by General Trias towns.
According to Attorney Juanito Ravanzo, the provincial Commission on Elections (Comelec) officer, Dasmariñas has 282,830 registered voters with 416,0095 barangays and 1,469 precincts.
After the proclamation of Dasmariñas as Cavite’s newest city, Apolonio Ramos, Dasmariñas Comelec officer, said out of 282,830 registered voters, only 44,304 voted in the plebiscite -- 36,559 voted Yes while 8,141 voted No.
Dasmariñas has a population of 556,330, which makes it the most populous city in Cavite with a land area of 82,349 sq. km.
One of the requirements for a municipality to become a city, according to Republic Act 9009, is that it should generate a minimum income of P1 million locally. Besides the income requirement, the municipalities vying for cityhood should also have a land area of 100 square kilometers or a population of 150,000.
Dasmariñas complied with all the requirements to become a city. Mayor Jennifer Barzaga of Dasmariñas is the first woman mayor in Cavite.
Rogelio Limpin
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