6 Cebu lawmakers reject redistricting

CEBU CITY - Six Cebuano congressmen want mayors in the province to be involved in the process of creating more districts for Cebu. They also agreed in a meeting Friday night with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia that Cordova town should not become a part of Cebu City, something that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has been suggesting. But while there was an initial agreement, Representatives Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City south) and Ramon "Red" Durano VI (5th district) prefer to put off any redistricting moves until the Lower House tackles the bill on the shift to a federal system of government. Also, pending the filing of a House resolution for a Constituent Assembly, Durano anticipates the Lower House and the Senate would sit on any proposal to redistrict provinces. Congress is likely to prioritize the resolution on the shift to a federal system of government, he said. "Once this resolution on federalism is filed, the arrangement of provinces and districts will be altered. So, why don't we just wait for the result of the Constituent Assembly because definitely, this will be prioritized and the redistricting bills will be put on hold," he told Sun.Star Cebu. Like Durano, Cuenco also believes the resolution on federalism will be prioritized and will take off soon, especially since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself is agreeable to it. "So the wisest thing to do now is to give it (redistricting) time, until the sessions end in June so we can have an idea what the House's stand is on federalism. If it pushes through, the congressional districts and the provinces will be changed again," Cuenco added. Representative Eduardo Gullas (1st district) said in a separate interview that while he is open to Durano's suggestion, he said he could not dictate on the Garcias, as well as, Representative Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (6th district) not to pursue their redistricting bills. "Who am I to dictate the congressmen?" he said. Cuenco and Durano said if Congress passes the bill convening a Constituent Assembly and adopts a federal system of government, provinces might have to be re-clustered to form federal states. Congressional districts also might have to be altered again. Cuenco said Saturday he is still waiting for Representative Raul del Mar (Cebu City north) to finalize his proposal on how they should go about redistricting the city. Friday night's meeting tackled on plans on how to increase the number of districts in the province, and how towns would be regrouped into congressional districts. Cuenco and del Mar were not in the meeting, which lasted about four hours. As for the consensus to involve mayors in the redistricting process, Representative Benhur Salimbangon (4th district) said the Provincial Government was tasked to conduct the consultations. "The common stand is that it would be hard for each district, especially the towns, to be divided," said Salimbangon. Representative Pablo Garcia (2nd district) said it has something to do with feeling sentimentally attached to a district. "It is a natural feeling. But we are looking at it (additional districts), the implications and its benefits to the Province," said Pablo. This is why the congressmen are turning to the mayors and their constituents for consultations. "The Province will discuss with mayors and explain the rationale and benefits so everybody will understand," said Salimbangon. "We also don't want to be separated," he told Sun.Star Cebu in a mobile phone interview Saturday. The initial suggestion of congressmen was to divide the current districts into two. As a result, three or four more districts may be added. But Representative Pablo John Garcia (3rd district) said that most of the districts cannot meet the 250,000 population if the current district will be divided to form two new districts. "It was agreed that there is a need to create more districts, but it was also agreed that details would have to be discussed at length because it is difficult to create more districts," Pablo John said of the "initial meeting" that congressmen had to "explore sentiments of the group." If the current district is divided, the spawned districts may not meet the 250,000 population requirement. This would result in possibly getting another town from another district and lump it with the district that lacked the population requirement. It would entail complete reconfiguration of the districts, explained Pablo John. But if Durano had his way, he would not want to let go of any of the 11 towns and one city under his district, lest he upsets the town officials and their political leaders, whom he said are against the removal or addition of another town. Durano would agree to a redistricting only if his district is divided into two. What he and leaders in the district prefer is to wait until their population reaches 500,000 so a division would be possible. The fifth district's population as of August 2007 is 459,868. Durano fears that any move to redistrict the province would put a strain in the Durano family's relationship with their political leaders that they nurtured since the 1980s. "Considering we are able to file the bill on the redistricting of the Province and the Senate sits on it, what will be the sentiment of our leaders come 2010? They would think 'Why should we help them when they would just make us part of another district?' What is their incentive to help you in the next election?" he continued. Gullas, for his part, already commissioned a survey by Dr. Carmen Eturma, head of the University of the Visayas research department, to get the pulse of the leadership and the constituents of the first district on moves to create new districts. "Whatever is the result of the survey, the final decision is mine," he told Sun.Star Cebu Saturday. Cuenco said he and del Mar, on the other hand, have yet to discuss how to regroup the city's 80 barangays. Also during Friday night's meeting, the six congressmen planned to meet once or twice a month to discuss the details of how to add new districts. Pablo John hopes that they can come to an agreement before session adjourns in June, although no timeframe was discussed. But what the six congressmen would not want to happen is for the Municipality of Cordova to be a part of Cebu City. "We deferred to Nerissa (Soon-Ruiz) because it's her district. But I got a sense from the group that it cannot be part of Cebu City," said Pablo John. "It (Cordova) is part of the Province, the City cannot get it," said Salimbangon. Ruiz, for her part, said she will push through with her initial proposal to pair Lapu-Lapu City with Cordova town and Mandaue City with Consolacion. But this time she will add a provision that only Cordova can vote and be voted upon in the election for provincial leaders. She said she went back to her original proposal upon the elder Garcia's advice. Ruiz also said she is not affected by the disagreement among Cebu congressmen in redistricting the province, as she had laid down her plans for her district. She said allowing only Cordova to vote in the provincial election is more tenable for her. - Sun.Star Cebu