The people of Mandaue City are a step closer to having their own representative in Congress and additional congressional fund for development projects, said Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.
The Senate on Monday approved on final reading HB 8511 converting Mandaue City into a lone congressional district.
It also approved on final reading several separate measures creating 11 new barangays in the provinces of Kalinga and Laguna.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, Angara sponsored on the Senate floor House Bill 8511 separating Mandaue City from the sixth legislative district of Cebu province to constitute as a single district.
If Mandaue City is converted into a lone district, it will not only get its own congressional representative, but also appropriation from the national government for projects and services that will benefit its constituents.
Mandaue City, which is known as Cebu’s “industrial heartland,” has a population of 365,144 people based on the 2015 census.
The Constitution provides that a locality with at least 250,000 residents should have one representative in Congress.
The Senate also approved on final reading three separate bills creating barangays Ipil, Lacnog West and Bulanao Norte, all in the city of Tabuk in Kalinga.
It also passed on final reading HB 7786 dividing Barangay San Vicente in San Pedro City, Laguna into eight distinct and independent barangays, namely: San Vicente, Pacita I, Chrysanthemum, Rosario, Pacita II, Fatima, San Lorenzo Ruiz, and Maharlika.
The upper chamber also approved on third reading the bill amending a provision in the charter of the city of Bacoor in Cavite, and the proposal to create the position of Assistant City Administrator in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.
All these measures were deliberated on and approved by the Senate local government panel before Angara reported them out on plenary.