House okays 7th legislative district for Cebu

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

The committee on local government endorsed the measure, which has been transmitted to the Senate. Second district Rep. Wilfredo Caminero authored it.

In defending his bill, Caminero said he was having a difficult time attending to the needs of 15 towns and 284 barangays in his constituency.

He said his district is almost one-third of the total land area of the province and has a population of 423,452 as of the May 1, 2010 census.

The population is twice the number required by law for the creation of a legislative district, he said.

Under the bill, the towns of Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Alegria, Malabuyoc, and Ginatilan would be taken out of the second district to comprise the seventh district.

The towns of Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon, Oslob, Santander, and Samboan would remain with Caminero’s constituency.

Cebu is the largest province in terms of congressional representation. Cebu alone has at present six representatives, while Cebu City has two and Lapu-Lapu City has one.

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, the province’s representatives are seeking the creation of a fifth district by splitting the second district.

The creation of additional congressional districts will mean more expenses on the part of taxpayers, as it would entail a bigger budget for the House of Representatives.