BOHOL province to remain as three congressional districts only? Or, with two additional districts, soonest?
Population-wise, our dear Bohol is already qualified to have five districts. The minimum number of residents of a congressional district is only 250,000. To Short Cuts, there is no more legal impediment that could be attributed to such a move. Population is the only requirement in determining an additional district.
If Short Cuts remember it right, almost twenty years ago the population requirement for additional two congressional districts in the province had been met.
Correspondingly, in that stretch of time also there were already moves from our Bohol province leaders – Board Members and Congressmen – to increase the number of congressional districts.
The move, however, remains a plan. Ultimately, it succumbed into its natural death.
Reason or reasons?
Therefore, where’s the big issue here that hampers the move?
If Short Cuts’ memory does not fail him, the main obstacle to the very laudable cause in the increase of congressional districts of the province is in the apportionment of municipalities as to what district these LGUs will belong.
Our Bohol leaders could hardly agree on this point.
The main issue on POLITICS is the cause! Political survival is the principal agenda in the minds of our Boholano politicians.
Paramount in the politician’s minds is that in what municipalities where he is politically strong, same municipalities must belong to his congressional district. Although the towns are not adjacent and compact.
The said concept highly contradicts the Constitutional mandate as provided in Section 5 of Article 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution when it states that the re-apportionment of towns to congressional district shall be adjacent and compact territory among others.
This is the so-called Gerrymandering theory that happened in the United States of America.
Such constitutional mandate requires that the re-apportionment of towns in the redistricting must be “adjacent and compact territory”.
To the present political leadership of the province – the Governor, Vice Governor, Board Members, and the three Members of the House of Representatives – Short Cuts is suggesting to set aside personal interest.
Instead, their focus must be to increase the number of congressional districts for it “will promote representative democracy and result to the economic and social progress of our province”, as emphasized by Board Member Gementiza in her privilege speech at the Halls of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
It is also understood that the increase in the number of congressional districts in the province, will correspondingly increase also national funds for the province. Job opportunities are readily available to our brother Boholanos.
This has been a long-felt dream of every Boholano!
Can this dream be a reality the soonest possible time?
