Residents of Las Piñas City voted on Saturday in a plebiscite regarding an ordinance that sets the boundaries of the city's 20 barangays.

City Ordinance No. 1941-23 delineates the territorial boundaries of these barangays to match the cadastral survey approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 2015.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) facilitated the voting process, with funding from the local government unit .

"Currently walang boundaries 'yung 20 barangays na to. That's why nag-come up sila nitong ordinance na to para finally ma-settle. Kasi merong ibang barangay na overlapping 'yung boundaries,so nagkaka issue 'yung mga kapitan kung kanino ba talaga itong part na ito sa amin ba o sa kabilang barangay," said Atty. Datumama Macainding, election officer of Comelec Las Piñas.

(Currently, the 20 barangays lack clear boundaries. The boundaries were not well-defined. This has caused overlapping boundaries, leading to issues among barangay captains about jurisdiction.)

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"Ang naging epekto nito ay 'yung sa LGU yung nahirapan sila sa koleksyon kasi di alam 'yung mga business permit,di alam saang barangay talaga. Kung matatandaan natin nung pandemic nung bigayan ng ayuda di alam kung sinong barangay yung nakakasakop, magbibigay ng ayuda sa residenteng ito," Macainding added.

(This has affected the LGU in collecting business permits because it's unclear which barangay certain businesses belong to. During the pandemic, when aid was distributed, it was also unclear which barangay was responsible for certain residents.)

Jeshel Abucejon, a 36-year resident of Barangay Talon Dos who participated in the plebiscite said that she voted "NO".

"Merong mga business establishment na hindi na siya magiging parte ng Talon Dos, eh nauunawaan ko po na malaking impact po sa barangay namin yung kasi malaking tulong po yung business establishment na nasasakupan po namin," Abucejon said.

(I understand that some business establishments will no longer be part of Talon Dos, which will have a significant impact on our barangay as these establishments provide substantial support.)

"Nakikisimpatya ako dun sa mga residente na mawawala po dito sa barangay namin..marami po kasing dapat baguhin yung mga mailing address nila yung mga titles nila," she added.

(I sympathize with the residents who will no longer be part of our barangay. They will have to change a lot of things, like their mailing addresses and titles.)

Jolito Araquel sees otherwise. "Nalilito ako sa mga boundary...para malinawan namin."

(I get confused about the boundaries, and this will clarify things for us.)

The barangays that will be affected by the plebiscite include  Manuyo Uno, Manuyo Dos, Daniel Fajardo, Ilaya, Elias Aldana, Pulang Lupa Uno, Pulang Lupa Dos, Zapote, Pamplona Uno, Pamplona Tres, B.F. International Village, Pamplona Dos, Talon Uno, Talon Dos, Talon Tres, Talon Kuatro, Talon Singko, Almanza Uno, and Almanza Dos.

Around 16 to 17 percent of Las Piñas' 303,000 registered voters participated in the plebiscite. The vote counting is taking place at the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office in Talon Dos, Las Piñas City.