Bacolod Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. yesterday said it was decided by the majority of city and barangay officials, including the business sector, that Bacolod City must be divided into two districts, during a public consultation he called for Saturday in the city.
A manifesto of support to the proposed apportionment of the City of Bacolod into two districts was signed Saturday by 42 barangay captains, some barangay kagawads and city officials, who included Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Councilors Caesar Distrito, Roberto Rojas, Em Ang, Carl Lopez, Al Victor Espino, El Cid Familiaran and Catalino Alisbo. Councilors Archie Baribar and Sonya Verdeflor reserved their approval of the manifesto saying it needs further study. Leonardia said those who attended the consultation including barangay captains coming from different party affiliations were overwhelmingly in favor of dividing Bacolod into two districts. Golez said the barangay captains will file resolutions supporting the move before Friday. He told them that they will divide Bacolod equitably in terms of natural resources, land area and population, Golez said. They have formed a technical working group composed of representatives from the City Mayor’s Office, Sangguniang Panlungsod and the Bacolod Congressional Office, to determine the demarcation line, Golez said. They will meet on Friday to discuss the matter, he added. Golez said, to be true to his campaign promise, he could have filed the bill on the redistricting of Bacolod alone. However, he waited for the people to decide the matter through a consultation. Golez told the officials that he planned to file the bill this month, but with the documentations needed, he may file it first week of September. Asked how fast the redistricting of Bacolod will take, Golez said the work of the congressman is only 25 percent and if he could convince Congress, it will go up to the Senate, which makes another 25 percent. The President will either approve or veto it which is 25 percent and the last 25 percent is the people through a referendum, he said. The manifesto said that Bacolod is one of the highly urbanized cities in the country and among the biggest political territories outside of Metro Manila with a total population of an estimated 531,943 (using a growth rate of 2.12 percent) and a voting population of 250,661, having an annual budget of P1.2 billion. It said the City of Bacolod has validly complied with the requirements under the 1987 Constitution and legal jurisprudence for its apportionment into two districts. Those who signed manifest their solid and unwavering support for the filing of the resolution in the House of Representatives through Golez for the apportionment of the Lone Legislative District of Bacolod, it added. During the consultation, they agreed that Bacolod will be divided into two legislative districts and will be named as Bacolod North and Bacolod South. The barangays which will comprise the Bacolod North District include – Brgys. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, Alangilan, Banago, Bata, Estefania, Granada, Mandalagan, Mansilingan, Montevista, Villamonte and Vista Alegre. The barangays which will comprise the Bacolod South District include – Brgys. 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, Alijis, Cabug, Felisa, Handumanan, Pahanocoy, Punta Taytay, Singcang-Airport, Sum-ag, Taculing and Tangub. The barangays which fall within the demarcation line will be made to choose through a consultation the district where they want to be included. Golez said he wants to act fast on the matter because there are also other local governments who will file the same proposal in Congress and he wants that Bacolod’s proposed bill will be taken up first.*CGS BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO Visayan Daily Star
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