MAYOR BENG CLIMACO has reiterated her strong support for the creation of additional legislative districts in Zamboanga City as proposed by local lawmakers.
Climaco said the creation of new congressional districts will largely benefit the people because of additional funding for infrastructure projects in areas covered by it. “The more (congressional) districts (we have) the better. It would mean not only more representations in Congress, but also more assistance from the national government to the local government unit,” she said.
The City Council has also approved a resolution supporting the creation of one or two additional congressional district.
Climaco said Zamboanga Reps. Cesar Jimenez (District 1) and Mannix Dalipe (District 2) are also supporting the proposal. It was first broached during Climaco’s incumbency as 1st district representative; unfortunately it did not push through because of disagreements with her counterpart Erico Fabian, who was then representing the 2nd district.
She said both Jimenez and Dalipe have discussed the proposal. “It must also be the initiative of both Congressmen Jimenez and Dalipe, and we all have to agree on the delineation or boundary of each congressional district,” Climaco said.
“Let’s look at it in a bigger and wider picture wherein the people of Zamboanga will benefit in terms of infrastructures and programs from national agencies and offices,” she added.
Under the law, a congressional district must have at least 250,000 populations. Thus, Zamboanga City, having nearly 1 million populations based on the latest census, is qualified for additional congressional districts.
“We can have more than two (congressional) districts already. Whether or not the census will come out next year, we have to start the ball rolling already because there are only 36 months left (for us to work this out),” Climaco said, stressing the need to pursue the establishment of addition districts so that it will be able to meet the budgetary requirements.
While Climaco, who has been espousing the creation of the new legislative districts since 2007 when she became a member of the 14th Congress, then Zamboanga lawmaker and former mayor, Celso Lobregat, rejected the proposal for fear that politicians from nearby provinces may took advantage of this and run for a congressional seat in Zamboanga City.
At present, there are over 230 legislative districts in the country, each composed of about 250,000 people. And according to the 2015 census, Zamboanga City has a population of 861,799 people and is the 6th most populous and 3rd largest city by land area in the Philippines.
Zamboanga was granted separate representation for the first time in 1984 after being re-classified as a highly urbanized city on November 22, 1983. And the enactment of Republic Act No. 9269 on March 19, 2004 increased Zamboanga’s representation by re-apportioning it into two congressional districts which began to elect their separate representatives in the 2007 elections. (Zamboanga Post)
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