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Rufus, Emano, Jaraula push for 3rd District of Cagayan de Oro City

January 29, 2009

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Local officials will be asking the local National Statistics Office (NSO-10) to re-survey the population of Cagayan de Oro City in the hopes of creating a third congressional district before 2010.

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Cong. Rufus Rodriguez told Gold Star Daily yesterday that he supports Vice-Mayor Vicente Emano’s move to establish a third legislative district in the city.

He said this would spell at least three huge advantages for the city including: an additional P30 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), another P40 million in Various Infrastructure Projects Fund (VIPF) and a third voice for Cagayan de Oro City in the House of Representatives.

“It would be difficult to imagine how any person in his right mind would not want to support the creation of a third district,” he said.

However, Rodriguez said the NSO Population Census in 2007 shows that Cagayan de Oro City only has a population of only 523,000 people and the requirement for the creation of a third district would mean a population of 750,000 people.

He said there is a possibility that an error might have been committed considering that the city’s population has already ballooned to more than 750,000 people as Cagayan de Oro City is now considered one of the fast-growing cities where people are migrating to.

“Magre-census unta kay basin waa kaayo naka-suroy (There should be a re-census as perhaps the census officers were not able to really go around and tally the city’s actual population),” he said.

He added that they will be requesting NSO-10 regional director Bobby Aves to conduct a re-survey.

Rodriguez said, once a census is initiated and it is found out that Cagayan de Oro City has a population of 750,000 people or more, a re-mapping should also be undertaken in all its barangays.

He said this new map will now show each of the three districts having a population of at least 250,000 people and a “contiguous” land area as provided for under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Rodriguez said the new map cannot have the neighboring barangays of Puntod to Kauswagan and then add Barangay Indahag as one district just to comply with the 250,000 population per one district.

“They have to be connected with each other or else we will be accused of gerrymandering,” he said. Gerrymandering is redistricting an area for political reasons.

The congressman assured that, once all the requirements of population and redistricting is complied with, he will do everything he can to in Congress to move for the approval of this third legislative district before the 2010 Elections.

During radio interviews yesterday, Emano also vowed to support Rodriguez whom he recently met and discussed the creation of this third legislative district with.

He said they have even agreed that he will accompany Rodriguez in the House of Representatives and in the Senate to lobby for it.

“Sukad pa sa pagsugod nako pagkamayor daan na nako kana giplano nga tulo ka distrito sa atong syudad (Since I was elected mayor of Cagayan de Oro, I have long planned of having the city divided into three legislative districts),” he said.

He added that he even already had maps for the three districts drawn up and ready since then but that they were only able to move for the approval of two legislative districts in 2007.

Emano clarified that he has only noble intentions for the creation of a third legislative district as he has no plans to run for a seat in Congress.

“Kung gusto pa ako mag-congressman, niadtong 2007 midagan na unta ko pero ang akoa desisyon nga magpapili nalang pagka-bisemayor (If I ever wanted to be a congressman, I would have ran for such an office in the 2007 Elections but I decided to only gun for the vice-mayoral post only instead),” he said.

Written by admin · Filed Under Cagayan de Oro 

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