Board mulls new reapportionment
10 DISTRICTS, NOT JUST 6
LINGAYEN—With the growing population of Pangasinan, one of the biggest among all provinces in the country, a new move seeking the reapportionment into not just seven but 10 congressional districts was initiated in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) last week.
A draft resolution was filed by Sixth District Board Member Alfonso Bince Jr. asking the committee on laws and ordinances headed by Second District Board Member Angel Baniqued to conduct public hearings for a possible reapportionment from the existing six districts.
It will be recalled that House Bill No. 41267 co-authored by then Reps. Victor Agbayani, Arthur Celeste and Rachel Arenas was passed in 2008 in the House of Representatives seeking to create a seventh congressional district for Pangasinan to be carved from the first, second and third districts.
But the Senate thumbed it down after Governor Amado Espino Jr. and past SP members manifested their vehement opposition for lack of consultation with the people.
Bince, a lawyer, believes that Pangasinenses will now agree with the reapportionment considering the current population of 2,778,862.
By next year, it s expected to reach 2,882,876.
Bince pointed out that under Article 6, Section 5 (3) of the Constitution, each city or province with at least a 250,000 population and comprising as far as practicable contiguous and adjacent territories may constitute one legislative district.
With a 2,882,876 population by next year, Pangasinan can then have four more congressional districts in addition to the present six.
“Reapportionment of the province into 10 congressional district is the best alternative that can be resorted rather than divide Pangasinan into two or three provinces, which is considered very controversial,” Bince said.
Bince conceded that while the reapportionment of a province or creation of congressional districts is decided by Congress, the views of those affected aired during the public hearings will carry weight for the province’s congressmen consideration.
The veteran board member stressed that reapportionment “will promote representative democracy and result in economic and social progress”.
FOUR CITIES
Bince also put forward his own suggested groupings of towns and cities but this immediately met objection from Second Board Member Raul Sison as his town of Urbiztondo was proposed to be grouped with San Carlos City.
Currently, the 3rd District is the biggest in Pangasinan with a population of 612,375; followed by the 5th district with 482,616; 2nd District, 450,558; 4th District, 6th District, 417,683, and 1st District, 393,836.
Sixth District Board Member Ranjit R. Shahani asked Bince to just suggest the pairing of the cities of Dagupan, San Carlos , Urdaneta and Alaminos with their nearest town neighbors so that they can stand on their own as separate congressional districts. This will also mean that there will be no need to break existing districts.
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