TUGUEGARAO CITY—Cagayan province is keen on adding two more legislative districts under its Cagayan Development Agenda (Caganda) 2025.
“Cagayan is too large, that is why there is a necessity for additional legislative districts,” Gov. Manuel Mamba said Wednesday.
As stated in Caganda Agenda No.10, forming new districts in Cagayan will improve the flow of government service in the province, and will boost the socioeconomic condition in the locales. Additional representatives from the province in Congress may also result in higher funds for the province.
Mamba stressed it is possible to form new legislative districts for a province through an act of Congress, with a requirement of not less than 120,000 voting population in each proposed district. Being a former presidential legislative liaison officer, the governor said such act “will be affirmable.”
He cited the province of Cavite and Quezon City, where additional districts have been approved by Congress owing to their growing populations. Neighboring province Isabela is also pushing the same, to have six legislative districts from their present four in Congress.
Should Cagayan be divided into five districts based on Mamba’s proposal, District 1 would include the towns of Alcala, Amulung, Baggao, Gattaran and Iguig, with 130,720 total voters.
District 2 would include Abulug, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Calayan, Claveria, Lasam, Pamplona, Sanchez Mira and Sta. Praxede at 137,086 voters.
Enrile, Peñablanca and Tuguegarao City would form District 3 with 122,034 voters.
Aparri, Buguey, Camalaniugan, Gonzaga, Lal-lo, Sta. Ana and Sta. Teresita would make up District 4 with 137, 537 voters.
District 5 would then include Piat, Rizal, Solana, Sto Niño and Tuao for 119,060 voters. While its proposed voting population is short of the requirement by almost a thousand, Mamba said he is optimistic will reach the mark by the 2019 elections.
Mamba said the composition of the proposed districts is based on each town’s geographical location, indigenous and cultural situation. He is hoping that other political leaders, especially the representatives from the province, and the Cagayanos will support the idea.
