House approves bill creating 7th district in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives has approved a bill creating a seventh legislative district in the province of Cebu.

Under House Bill 4427, the new district would be created out of the current second district and would be composed of the towns of Dimanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Alegria, Malabuyoc, and Ginatilan.

The towns of Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Bolijoon, Islob, Santander, and Samboan will remain with the second district.

The Commission on Elections is mandated to issue the necessary rules and regulations within 30 days after Congress approves the bill and President Aquino signs it into law.

The current representative of Cebu’s second district is Wilfredo Caminero. He and Gwendolyn Garcia of the third district, Aileen Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City, and Benhur Salimbangon of the fourth district authored HB 4427.

Cebu is the largest province in terms of the number of congressional districts. The province alone has six representatives, excluding Radaza and two representing Cebu City.

However, according to Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite, their province is the most populous but has only seven congressional seats.

Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, also has seven districts, followed by Pangasinan, Manila, Quezon City, and Iloilo (including Iloilo City), with six seats each.

Earlier, the House approved a bill removing Batangas City from the second district of Batangas and constituting it into a separate legislative constituency.

Batangas will have five districts if the measure becomes a law.

In Nueva Ecija, Rep. Joseph Violago is seeking the creation of a fifth district by splitting his constituency, the second district.

Under this proposal, the city of San Jose and the towns of Carranglan, Lupao and Talugtug would remain as the second district, while the Science City of Muñoz and the municipalities of Pantabangan, Rizal and Llanera would comprise the new fifth district.

Violago said the increase in the population of the two cities and six towns calls for grouping them into two legislative districts.

He said it is imperative for Congress to reapportion the legislative districts in his province to meet the increasing socio-economic demands of its people.

The composition of the first, third and fourth districts would remain the same. Their incumbent representatives are Estrellita Suangsing, Czarina Umali, and Magnolia Rosa Antonino-Nadres.