Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, has delivered today, May 22, the sponsorship speech on House Bill 5608, a proposed measure that seeks to reapportion the province of Palawan into three legislative districts.
"This bill proposes to create one additional legislative district to consist of the city of Puerto Princesa and the Municipality of Aborlan, which is to be known as the third congressional district of Palawan. Puerto Princesa and the town of Aborlan have a population count of 254,883 based on the 2010 census. The proposed first district has a population count of 385,593 based on the 2010 census by the National Statistics Office, while the proposed second district has 353,865 population based on the National Statistics Office 2010 census," Marcos explained.
Puerto Princesa City is proclaimed on June 2007 as a highly urbanized city through a proclamation issued by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Likewise, tourism in the city continuously flourished with the declaration of the Underground River as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
"With the categorization of Puerto Princesa as a highly urbanized city and with Palawan's increasing population, the Palaweños clearly deserve an additional seat in the Lower House, after having complied with the mandates set by the Constitution, which requires that a representative district must consist of contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. The reapportionment of Palawan is based on the principle of equality of representation, which means that larger provinces or representative districts should be entitled to more representatives in Congress," Marcos added.
