Pacquiao wants separate congressional district for hometown GenSan

Senator Manny Pacquiao has filed a bill seeking a separate congressional district for his hometown General Santos City.

Pacquiao filed Senate Bill No. 1487 on May 31, pushing to separate General Santos from the first legislative district of South Cotabato.

Pacquiao cited Article VI, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that: “Each legislative district shall comprise as far as practicable, continuous, 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.”

According to the 2015 Census of Population and Housing, General Santos City has a total population of 594,000, with an average population growth rate of 1.91 percent from 2010 to 2015.

“In accordance with the constitutional provision on legislative districts and the principle of proper democratic presentation, it is fitting to create a legislative district for the City of General Santos, the sole highly urbanized city in SOCCSKSARGEN, and grant the same with a voice in the Philippine Congress,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao has residences in General Santos and in Makati City.

The sitting congressman of South Cotabato, Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr., also filed the same bill at the House of Representatives. It was approved on third and final reading last month. — Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/RSJ, GMA News