Do we need more Congressmen?
On 28 August 2006, the ARMM Regional Assembly passed the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201 to carve out eight towns from the first district of Maguindanao and create the province of Shariff Kabungsuan. The ARMM is authorized to create local government units such as barangays and municipalities, but the Supreme Court clarified that the power to create a province or a city-since it entails the creation of a legislative district,-is exclusively vested in Congress.
On 16 July 2008, the Supreme Court nullified the creation of Shariff Kabungsuan, and argued that before Congress creates new provinces it must first enact a law increasing the allowable membership of the House.
Since the Constitution and the Local Government Code provide guidelines in the apportionment of districts with primary consideration to population, it is really the prerogative of the legislators to apportion or reapportion their district for the sake of development1.
Increasing the number of representatives could mean concentrated constituency and focused delivery of services. More legislators mean more measures being filed and refined.
On the other hand, more laws doesn't mean better policies. Aside from prolonged debates, precious time will also be taken by additional members entitled to privilege hours, parliamentary inquiries and points of order. More legislators also mean more pork barrel spending.
Three House bills have been filed increasing the membership of the House:
1. HB 5943 by Rep. Raul Gonzales Jr. (Iloilo City, lone district) – 300 seats
2. HB 5962 by Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr. (Lanao del Norte, first district) – 350 seats
3. HB 6005 by Speaker Nograles (Davao City, first district) – 300 seats
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also filed SB 3123, increasing the number to 350 members from 250.
Considering a 350-member House of Representatives, this translates to:
1. minimum of 56 members more to constitute a quorum;
2. minimum of 28 members more to approve a bill;
3. 117 signatures to transmit the articles of impeachment;
4. 234 signatures to call for a Constitutional Convention;
5. 263 signatures to convene a Constituent Assembly; and
6. P7.84 billion additional pork barrel.
However, in a political environment characterized by familial lines, one cannot also discount gerrymandering as a motive for the apportionment. Further distribution of district representation may also mean accommodating power plays among the local family elite.
When Shariff Kabungsuan was created, ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy-Uy Ampatuan appointed Datu Bimbo Sinsuat Sr. as the first provincial governor. Governor Sinsuat is the son of Datu Blah Sinsuat, where the new municipality in the province was named after.
Rep. Didagen Dilangalen is back as representative of the first district of Maguindanao, plus Cotabato City. He is now serving areas from two regions: the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Soccsksargen.
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1 Section 5, Paragraph 3, Article VI of the Constitution states: “Each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative.”
More districts to come
In 20 October 2008, President Arroyo signed RA 9508, reapportioning the lone legislative district of the province of Agusan del Sur into two districts. Just before going into theLenten break, the Senate and the House passed a bill constituting the district of Malolos City from the first district of Bulacan.
Eleven bills creating new districts also passed third reading:
HB 4053, Providing for the reapportionment of legislative districts in the Province of Lanao del Norte (one new district)
HB 4054, Constituting the lone district of Iligan City (one new district)
HB 4163, Creating a second congressional district in the Province of Camarines Norte (one new district)
HB 4254, Reapportioning the Province of Cavite into seven legislative districts (four new districts)
HB 4256, Amending the Charter of the City of Iloilo (one new district)
HB 4264, Creating a new legislative district in the province of Camarines Sur (one new district)
HB 4267, Reapportioning the legislative districts in the Province of Pangasinan (one new district)
HB 5007, Constituting the lone district of Lapu-Lapu City (one new district)
HB 5273, Constituting the lone district of Puerto Princesa (one new district)
HB 5761, Creating a seventh district in the Province of Cebu (one new district)
HB 5989, Creating an additional district in Cebu City (one new district)
If approved in the Senate, there will be 16 additional congressional seats in the coming 2010 elections.
The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than 250 members. It further prescribes that 20% of the total number of representatives shall be coming from party-list groups. This does not pose a problem just yet since party-list do not occupy all the 50 seats allocated.
Last May 2007 elections, 219 candidates won the country’s legislative districts. Together with the 22 party-list representatives, the lower chamber now has 238 members.1
Assuming the number of party-list representatives remains 22 and the 16 district representatives are added, the House will be composed of 257 members. This is notwithstanding the pending bills in the House committee that would add six new legislative districts.
Thus, Congress has to amend the Constitution to increase the membership of the House of Representatives before approving the measures forming new legislative districts.
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1 Discounting Representatives Wahab Akbar (Basilan, lone district), Victor Dominguez (Mountain Province, lone district) and Danilo Lagbas (Misamis Oriental, 1st district) who already died. |
