Las Piñas City is now qualified to have two congressional districts, according to members of the city council.
Incumbent councilors Mark Anthony Santos and Henry Medina filed a council resolution asking the House of Representatives to create a new legislative district in Las Piñas.
“With the creation of another congressional district representation in the House of Representatives, the voice of Las Piñeros will be heard in broader arena,” said Santos.
Former President Fidel Ramos signed the bill on Feb. 12, 1997 which elevated Las Piñas from a municipality into a city. A plebiscite held a month later approved the city status by its residents, making Las Pinas the 10th city in Metro Manila on March 26, 1997.
The 2020 census conducted by the Philippine Statistic Authority showed that Las Piñas City had a population of 606,293. This meets the required number of at least 250,000 people to create another legislative district, said Santos, who is gunning for a seat in Congress.
Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution, provides that “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.”
He said that under the present set-up, Las Piñas has two districts when electing six members of the city council or Sangguniang Panlungsod from 20 barangays, but has only one congressional seat.
