New legislative district eyed in Cebu City

CEBU CITY – Congressman Eduardo Rama Jr. and Congresswoman Cutie del Mar are pushing for the creation of more legislative districts in Cebu City, including the formation of the Mega Cebu Development Authority.

Rama said with the city’s huge population, it is qualified to have another legislative district which means additional representation in the House of Representatives. He said based on the 2020 census, the city has 964,169 residents, making it the sixth most populated city in the country and the most populous in the Visayas.

The 1987 Constitution, particularly Article VI, Section 6 (3), provides that each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least 250,000 or each province, shall have at least one representative in Congress.

“More projects for the city of Cebu. More voices in Congress. That would be an advantage to the Cebuanos. So that’s one of the priorities that we are looking into right now,” Rama said.

Del Mar echoed Rama’s view, saying that the city is ripe for more districts. “Another district means more funding,” she said.

Mayor Michael Rama previously said that he would also push for the establishment of an additional legislative district here. The city currently has two legislative districts – the First District (held by Del Mar) in the North with 46 villages; and the Second District (held by Rama) in the South with 34 villages.

Rama said he will work closely with Del Mar for a legislative measure that will form the Mega Cebu Development Authority. “With that at least we can have coordination between LGUs in terms of policy direction, infrastructure planning, solid waste management direction, and coordination for the intermodal transport system in different LGUs,” he said.

Del Mar said she will also work with the mayor for the re-implementation of three flyover projects which were cancelled during her first term as congresswoman from 2010 to 2013; and the P3 billion in funding for the skyways and tunnels to solve traffic congestion here. (John Rey Saavedra)