Group formalizes opposition to redistricting of city
A group composed of representatives from various sectors have signed a manifesto expressing their strong opposition to the approval of House Bill 4256 or a bill reapportioning Iloilo City into two districts.
The group led by Atty. Daniel Cartagena intends to personally bring a copy of the manifesto to the office of Senator Benigno Aquino III, chair of the Senate committee on local government, on Monday.
At the same time, they requested the Senate committee on local government to conduct a public hearing about the proposal.
In their opposition which they call the "essence of participative democracy", the group cited three reasons why House Bill 4256 should not be approved by the Senate.
One reason they cited in their manifesto is that Iloilo City "does not meet the required 250,000 population to create another legislative district." The group said the city has only a population of 418,710 according to the 2007 census conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The group said the approval of the bill allowing the creation of another legislative district is a violation of the law. "It is a violation of the law if another district will be created with less than 250,000 population. It will set a bad precedent because other legislative districts, if not all, will also seek to create additional district for the sole purpose of serving certain political accommodations," reads their manifesto.
In the bill, there are two congressional districts, which follows that there will be two congressmen but one mayor. There would be additional members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod from eight to 16 members. The congressional districts would be divided according to the Iloilo River or the flow of the river in the city.
The first congressional district will cover the districts of Mandurriao, Jaro, Lapaz and Lapuz. On the other hand, the districts of City Proper, Molo and Arevalo comprise the second congressional district.
"The justification advanced by Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr that when a legislative district exceeds a population of 250,000, another district may be created to represent any excess thereof may create a scenario where legislative district having a population of 260,000 can have two legislative districts by having one of it maintain 250,000 population and another district to represent the remaining 10,000," the manifesto states.
"If this can be done in Iloilo City, why can't the same be done in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th districts of Iloilo province. Or maybe, why not also in Negros, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Manila, Ilocos, Pampanga, Palawan, Maguindanao, Jolo, Sulu or in all the cities provinces of the country from Aparri to Jolo," it added.
"If we start allowing it in Iloilo City, in violation of the law, others will follow and we can expect an increase of membership in the House of Representatives from about 240 to 480, thereby increasing the national budget requirement to fund the offices of the additional 240 congressmen."
Another argument presented by the group in opposing the approval of the bill is that the creation of another legislative district will "undoubtedly worsen our economic situation because the deficit will be increased by the needed funds for the offices of the additional 240 congressmen."
On his part, Cong. Gonzalez is confident that the bill would pass the Senate. There is already a Supreme Court decision in the case of Mariano vs Comelec that allows the creation of a new legislative district, he said.
"If the bill is not approved before 2010, we will know who among the Senators will not get our support," stressed Gonzalez.
The court decision allows the creation of another legislative district as it states at least one legislative could be created in a district which has more than 250,000 population, said Gonzalez.
The Senate is dominated by the opposition. However, there are already Senators who initially expressed their support to the house bill. They are Ilongga Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senator Manny Villar, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Francis Pangilinan. The Senate has all the time to act on the bill between now until Christmas, Gonzalez said.
The House of Representatives approved the bill even before its September deadline. It depends on the Senators to act on the bill. However, they should also listen to the "voice of the people" who are for the creation of another legislative district, said Gonzalez.
The other signatories in the manifesto are former Councilors Joshua Alim, Rolando Dabao, Atty. Romeo Gerochi, Atty. Leopoldo Causing, Barangay Captain Sumakwel Nava of Barangay Libertad Lapuz, Jose Marte Nava, executive director of Urban Partners Inc and businessman Paquito "Pax" Ngo.