CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Rep. Oscar S. Rodriguez (3rd District-Pampanga) said his bill proposing a lone legislative district for this capital city has made it through first reading and is now in the local governments congressional committee, but would need a resolution from the provincial board for it to progress.
This, even as Rodriguez said he has already worked out for a budget of P963 million for inclusion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for public works project in his district. With insertions in the budget for next year no longer allowed, it is important to ensure that important projects for next year are identified in the NEP, he stressed.
In an interview here, Rodriguez said House Bill 2734 is now being tackled by the congressional committee and he expressed hope that his proposal would pass in the present Congress. “It will be good not only for San Fernando but also for the province,” he said, but not- ed that his move would have to be complemented by the declaration of San Fernando as a highly urbanized city, above its present status as a component city.
His bill is seeking “to create a legislative district for the City of San Fernando, thus separating it from the Third District of Pampanga.” It cited figures from the National Statistics Office showing the city’s population growth from 193,025 in 1995 to 285,912 in 2010.
“Evidently, even as early as 2007, the city is already qualified to have its own representative in Congress. Moreover, even after deducting the population of San Fernando from the whole population of the Third District of Pampanga, the population of the four remaining municipalities will still qualify them and retain their right to have a representative in Congress,” the proposal said.
The proposal also noted that San Fernando “is a first class component city and it is the capital of Pampanga. It is also the regional center of Central Luzon… it is well known not only in the country but also in some parts of the world as the Christmas Capital of the Philippines for its giant lanterns.”
The bill noted that “despite the calamities suffered by the city, particularly Mt. Pinatubo eruption and the succeeding typhoons and floodings, it has again risen to a higher economic status.” “Business viability and its strategic location have made it attractive to many investors,” it added.
Rodriguez cited the Department of Finance as certifying that the income of the City San Fernando in 2012 was P1.027 billion. Enumerating various investors that have moved into his city, Rodriguez stressed that “the increasing population and the potential for economic growth and development of the City of San Fernando more than justify the call for its own Representative in the Halls of Congress.”
In the first district of Pampanga comprising of Angeles City, Mabalacat City, and Magalang, Rep. Joseller Guiao also authored a bill seeking a lone district for Angeles.
