The Senate approved on third and final reading the house bill which sought to reapportion certain legislative districts in Cavite province.
Senator Sonny Angara, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said House Bill No. 5367 sought to reapportion certain legislative districts in Cavite province which, in effect, would make General Trias City its own lone legislative district.
If the measure enacted, City of General Trias would be a lone district, becoming the new 6th district of province of Cavite.
The current 6th district composed of Amadeo, Tanza and Capitol City Trece Martires plus the town of Indang would compose the new 7th district.
The new 8th district would be the current 7th minus Indang town – Tagaytay City, Alfonso, General Aguinaldo, Magallanes, Maragondon, Mendez, Naic, and Ternate.
The bill authored by Cavite 6th District Representative Luis ‘Jonjon’ A. Ferrer IV, 7th District Congressman Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino, and Rep. Roy Loyola of the 5th District seeking to amend Section 1 of Republic Act 9727, reorganized the province into its current 7 districts into 8 Cavite legislative districts
The House of Representatives approved HB 5367 on 3rd reading last year May 15, 2017.
According to Senator Angara, the Constitution allowed a representative for cities with more than 250,000 population. Based on the National Census, GenTri as fondly called by locals is more than 350,000 people residents by yearend last year of 2017.
“The Constitution states that legislative districts should be apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants and based on a uniform and progressive ratio to give equal representation to an equal number of people,” Angara added.
Angara added that General Trias had become among the fast-rising centers of growth in the greater Metro Manila area. Many who work in Manila had chosen it as their home. Its high time that General Trias be made into its own lone legislative district”.
The approved bill will return to Congress for amendment.