Rep. Maria Isabelle ClimacoZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 2, 2008) – A proposal to put up a third congressional district in Zamboanga City is getting a lot support from residents, saying, the new funding that goes with it could help develop many poor areas here.
Zamboanga, which has a population of 774,000, is divided into two congressional districts with Rep. Maria Isabelle Climaco representing the First District and Rep. Erico Fabian on the Second District.
Climaco, who is on her first term, has proposed to file a bill in the House of Representatives that will create the new congressional district. She said there is a need to hold a public consultation before she could file the bill.
“A new congressional district would give us additional representation in Congress and additional voice and representation of the people in the House of Representatives,” she said.
Informal and random surveys by a local radio network, Radyo Agong-dxRZ, showed that many residents have been supporting Climaco’s proposal. Many of those who joined the survey cited the benefits of the Priority Development Assistance Fund that the new congressional district could get from the House of Representatives.
Each of the 240 members of the House of Representatives is entitled to P70-million Priority Development Assistance Fund annually.
The Priority Development Assistance Fund makes possible the implementation - in every congressional district - of small-scale, but significant projects which can not be part of large-scale projects of national agencies. These projects, mostly infrastructure, health, education and social aid packages, directly touch the lives of district constituents.
“A new congressional district will surely bring us more development projects and I am supporting this proposal. Let’s just be careful in choosing our new leaders if ever this proposal will succeed,” said Maritess Fernandez, a businesswoman.
The House of Representatives at present has 240 members and the Constitution provides a maximum of 250 congressional seats. And Zamboanga City is qualified to have three congressional districts.
A constituency with a representative in the lower house of Congress is a congressional district. However, the term congressional district has become synonymous in local parlance as 'representative district.'
A legislative district, which has an average population of about 250,000 to 500,000 may be composed of: (a.) an entire province, (b.) within a province, a group of municipalities and cities (sometimes even including independent and highly urbanized cities geographically located in the province), (c.) a single city, (d.) a group of geographically adjacent independent cities and independent municipalities, or (e.) a group of villages within a city.
Each province is guaranteed at least one representative to the lower house, even though it may not come close to having the same population as that of other more populated legislative districts. Only voters within each district are allowed to vote in the election for the member of the House of Representatives from that district. (Mindanao Examiner)
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