February 16, 2009 05:26 PM Monday [ journal.com.ph ]
FORMER Bulacan Gov. Josie dela Cruz yesterday denounced a move in the Senate to push the passage of Senate Bill 1986 seeking to convert Malolos City into a congressional district despite glaring constitutional infirmities, particular the non-compliance of the constitutional population requirement for such a move.
Dela Cruz lamented that the proponents of the move seeking to transform Malolos into a lone congressional district separate from the existing first Bulacan congressional district conveniently ignores the fact that the city’s official population as per authenticated records of the National Statistic Office (NSO) as of Aug. 1, 2007 is only at 233,069 and not 255,000 being touted by the authors of the bill in various sponsorship speech.
The former governor, who served from 1998 to 2007, said that this is in clear violation of Section 5 (1) of the 1987 Constitution, which explicitly states any locality seeking to have its own seat in Congress must have 250,000 persons or more at the time of the proposed amendment.
According to her, the figures being quoted by Sen. Mar Roxas and Bulacan 1st District Rep. Victoria Sy-Alvardo, authors and sponsors of Senate Bill No. 1986 and House Bill 3693, is not supported by the NSO and should be treated only as hearsay.
“The proponents have no (NSO) proof to show that the present population level of the city have reached the minimum requirement of 250,000 population. Either they have none or they suppressed it. And so, they must have arrived at the figures through their own imaginary projections,” Dela Cruz stressed.
Both lawmakers are seeking to amend Section 57 of Republic Act 8752 so that Malolos can be declared a lone congressional district separate from the existing Bulacan first congressional district which is composed of Paombong, Hagonoy, Calumpit and Pulilan.
Sources said the reason behind is to allow cumbent Mayor Danny Domingo to run as congressman of the new district and Vice Mayor Al Tengco as a mayoralty candidate.
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