Originally Posted by
reclamador
Monday, December 1, 2008 - 00:52
CEBU CITY -- Except for Representative Raul del Mar, Cebu delegates to the House of Representatives have signed congressman Pablo Garcia's bill to create a new district for Cebu Province.
House Bill 5178 seeks to create a seventh district out of eight towns in the present 15-town second district, which Garcia represents.
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"With a total population of 3,050,110 for its six legislative districts, Cebu Province is under-represented and is justified to have more than its present six (districts)," the former Cebu governor wrote in his bill.
Garcia said it would only be "fair and equitable" for Cebu Province to have more than six congressional districts, if "possible as many as 12 representative districts."
"The more districts, the better for the Province," said Garcia's son Pablo John, congressman of the third district.
"The second district especially needs to be reconfigured because it has 15 municipalities — the most number among six districts — dividing the same pie."
In a telephone interview, congressman del Mar said he did not sign House Bill 5178 as a co-author because he is a legislator of the city, not the Province. He was also not asked to endorse the measure, he said.
Del Mar is optimistic, though, that the elder Garcia's bill will be approved without any hitch. "That is as good as done, time permitting, because nobody will oppose that, the other congressmen in the Province support it," he said.
Division
City Representative Antonio Cuenco said he signed the bill as a co-author when Garcia sought his endorsement.
Garcia's bill does not call for a plebiscite, but Cuenco said that is no longer necessary as the Local Government Code requires a plebiscite only for the creation of a new barangay, district or city.
The proposal to create another district in Cebu City has hit a snag because Cuenco and del Mar cannot agree yet on how to go about the division.
Cuenco, who represents the south district, said Sunday that he wants to create a new district out of the city's 34 mountain barangays in both the south and north districts and seven barangays surrounding the Pardo area, but del Mar is not agreeable to it.
"The proposal for a new district (in the city) is still hanging; it's up in the air. Cebu City's population is definitely more than 750,000 and it's allowed to have one more district. But the problem is he (del Mar) is not in favor of creating a new district wherein the number of barangays in his district will be depleted. He does not want to lose his barangays," Cuenco said in a phone interview.
In a separate interview, del Mar said Cuenco can pursue the plan to create a new district without including north district barangays, since the population in the south would suffice.
Results of the August 2007 census showed that Cebu City has a population of 798,806. The north district has 372,099 while the south district has 426,707, which is still not sufficient to form two districts.
Option
The Local Government Code provides that a population of 250,000 is needed to form one district.
"If congressman del Mar insists on his position, kulangon gyud mi sa population... I will not criticize him for that, but it would be easier if he agrees. I will still try to convince him," Cuenco said.
Del Mar said he is still open to discussing the matter with Cuenco if there is a need to include some north district barangays in the proposed central district.
Dividing the south district into two is also an option, but Cuenco said he wants to carefully evaluate and consult the public on this.
"I'm hesitant to do this because the population for each district would be less than 250,000. But I was told it can be done because other cities (Makati, Mandaluyong and San Juan) have done it, and the Constitution requires 250,000 or a `fraction thereof'. That phrase makes a difference. I have not made any decision yet because I don't want to make a mistake," Cuenco said.
The elder Garcia, in proposing the creation of a new congressional district, cited the cases of Davao Oriental, Agusan del Norte, Makati City, Biliran, Siquijor, Camiguin and Dinagat Island.
The Cebu Provincial Board previously passed a resolution asking the eight Cebu legislators for a law increasing the number of legislative districts in Cebu Province.
"Unfortunately, the incumbent representatives of the Province of Cebu have encountered serious difficulties and problems in the course of the process of consultations with their constituents in the municipalities and cities that may be affected by the proposed redistricting," said Pablo Garcia.
Spread thinly
While redistricting in the five congressional districts seems "extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve at this time," the creation of at least one additional district "may be reached in the second legislative district of the Province."
Garcia's district is composed of 15 towns, further split into 284 barangays. Given such a large area, the lawmaker's Priority Development Assistance Funds do not suffice for "constituency services."
"It is easy to see that the allocation for the second district of Cebu is spread thinly among 15 municipalities and 284 barangays. And yet these are the very poor municipalities and barangays that are most in need of a bigger share of the national resources and services for their development and upliftment," he said.
The bill was filed last September 23 and is pending with the House committee on local government. (GMD/LCR/Sun.Star Cebu)
Bro this was taken from The SunStar Dec 1 2008 issue.
Gusto man lagi ang mga Garcia pun-an ug representation ang Cebu.
Kinsa kaha nga congressmen gi ka istorya ni nerry nga dili gusto ma lone district ang Mandaue?
Si royrichard tingali kinahanglan mag homework usa ka mo post sa istorya
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