From the Municipality of Dasmariñas Province of Cavite to Dasmariñas City - The Official Dasmariñas History courtesy of Wikipedia...
Cityhood
1997-1998
HB08931 was filed by Congresman Renato P. Dragon with other cityhood bills of Imus(HB 08960) and Bacoor (HB (08959). It was filed last February 11, 1997 and read last February 13, 1997. Committee Report N0. 01361 was submitted on December 17,1997. It was approved on the third reading by the House last January 10, 1998. It did not push through as a Republic Act and no plebiscite happen.
2000
HB099883 was filed by Congressman Erineo Maliksi last March 13,2000. It was first read last March 13,2000. It was approved on the Second and Third reading of House last March 15,2000 and March 27, 2000. It was transmitted to the senate on March 28, 2000 and received on March 31, 2009. It did not push through as a Republic Act and no plebiscite happen.
2008-2009
The idea of converting Dasmariñas into a component city was again proposed after failure in 1997 and 2000. Recent unofficial surveys have shown that the municipality's inhabitants are now willing to push forward with cityhood.
House Bill no. 5258 converting the municipality of Dasmariñas into a component city was filed by Congressman Pidi Barzaga last October 03, 2008. It was read last October 06, 2008. It was approved by the House on Second and Third Reading on October 7 and November 17. It was transmitted and received by the senate last November 17 and 20 of 2008. It was passed by the senate on Second and Third Reading last October 28 and November 05, 2009. It is received by the President of the Philippines last October 14, 2009 and signed as Republic Act 9723 last October 15, 2009.
COMELEC Resolution No. 8682 in connection with the November 25, 2009 plebiscite to ratify the conversion of the municipality of Dasmariñas province of Cavite into a component city pursuant to Republic Act 9723 dated October 15, 2009.
Republic Act No. 9723 was ratified by the registered voters of Dasmariñas through a plebiscite conducted last November 25.2009, converted the municipality of Dasmariñas in the Province of Cavite into a component city to be known as the City of Dasmariñas. There were about 44,000 voters who cast the plebiscite ballot in the town’s 1,508 polling precincts. The yes votes won overwhelmingly. The yes votes got 36,559 while the no votes got 8,141.
Lone District of the City of Dasmariñas
The city of Dasmarinas shall have its own legislative district in the 2010 elections.
A bill was filed by Congressman Joseph Abaya with co-authors Congressman Pidi Barzaga and Crispin Remulla. The bill is supported by Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Richard Gordon and Senator Ramon Bong Revilla. It was approved by the president of the Philippines as Republic Act 9727 last October 22, 2009.
However Republic Act 9723 (Dasmariñas City Charter) section 64 also includes the City of Dasmariñas shall have its own legislative district to commence in the next national election after the effectivity of this Act.
More about Dasmariñas City here...
I have noticed banners about the plebiscite of the cityhood of Dasmariñas and was curious on how will it happen... and on this date I've first exercised my right to vote (Yup, I am one of those first-time voters) and all my questions have been answered. Just when I thought that my first time to exercise my vote is on the upcoming 2010 election, came this Dasmariñas wide plebiscite.
We got up at around 6:00 in the morning because mom thought that it was gonna be as chaotic and crowded as the previous national elections, she was wrong. The whole process only took minutes and the prescint was't even that crowded. We went there together with the wife of the former barangay captain to exercise our vote. After a short meal (rice soup) courtesy of the barangay (I do not know what is the meal for, whether it is to bribe us to vote yes, but my vote would not be affected by such gimmicks... I will stick vote "Yes!" hahaha). We were able to get to the local voting prescint (local elementary school) via the public utility jeepney which was also commissioned by the new barangay captain who was the daughter of the former barangay captain.
We were guided to our voting prescints which only took us some minutes. Once there, we were ask to sign the voters registration sheet and place a thumb mark on it. The nail of my right index finger was tainted with a blue indelible ink and was handed out by the election marshal with the official voter's paper. There was a blank box where we could either say "Yes" or "No" to the cityhood of Dasmariñas and I wrote a big...Yes.
The whole process just took 5 minutes and we all head back home. After a day or so, I found out through a friend who called me that Dasmariñas is already a city. I know I am sloppy for not knowing the outcome of the plebiscite too soon for I may have ask mom or the barangay captain for the results, but hey! I was still enthusiastic and happy about the transformation of the municipality of Dasmariñas to the City of Dasmariñas. I became a part of the history of Dasmariñas, Cavite and probably the Philippines. I lived the day that I came to see the progress of our hometown Dasmariñas.
