Garin leads call for 6th Congressional District in Iloilo
First it was Iloilo City. Now the Capitol follows suit with a similar move to add another congressional district in the Province of Iloilo.
Presented in a privilege speech yesterday, Iloilo First District Board Member Oscar Richard S. Garin, Jr. sought for legislative backing on said proposal.
As such, a Resolution was passed requesting Congress to reapportion the legislative districts of Iloilo thus a 6th District if approved.
In a news statement furnished to The News Today (TNT), Garin said the plan was reached after corresponding research showed that the Province of Iloilo is already qualified for another congressional district.
To date, Iloilo is divided into five (5) congressional districts composed of a total of forty two (42) municipalities and one (1) component city. A total of 1,721 barangays comprise these districts, the largest number among all provinces in the entire country.
Board Member Garin in pushing for a new district stressed that "Iloilo is one of the fastest growing provinces in the country not only in terms of population but likewise in terms of economic production."
"The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) as the highest legislative branch of the Province of Iloilo, sees the necessity to reapportion the legislative districts in the province in order to meet the demands caused by the increasing population and ever changing needs of our constituents," Garin said.
As proposed, the 6th District will be comprised of Balasan, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, San Dionisio and Sara.
And with the reapportionment comes the exclusion of Zarraga from the Second District and moved to the Fourth District. Third District will see the exclusion of Pototan and moved as well to the Fourth District. The Fourth District will then have the addition of Zarraga and Pototan alongside the exclusion of Passi City, Banate and San Enrique here. Fifth District on the other hand will have all three – Passi City, Banate and San Enrique – with the excluded towns comprising the 6th District.
"In a Democracy, the idea of Representation is anchored on the principle that the voice of the people must be heard. Hence it appears to me that the changing needs of an increasing Ilonggo population must be properly addressed by giving them an additional Representative, not only in this August Body but more significantly, in the House of Representatives. This can be realized by having another Legislative District in our province," Garin said while adding that as per statistics of the Ilonggo population, "it is apparent that if the minimum population of 250,000 is made as the benchmark, Iloilo Province can qualify for six Legislative Districts."
If realized, two more board members are likewise expected in the Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP).
"Help me build this home. Help me call the attention of our legislators to the needs of the present times... to the needs of the contemporary Ilonggo," Garin ended.