Bill to increase House seats based on last census
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. Image from his Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — A recently filed House bill calls for the “reapportionment” of the country’s 253 legislative districts, a move that may lead to additional seats in the chamber.
House Bill No. 6651 cited as its basis Section 5, Article VI, of the Constitution, which says Congress shall make a reapportionment “three years following the return of every census.”
According to the bill filed by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, the time has come for such census-based review. For without such a step, it noted, “new legislative districts are [instead] created through laws which are usually influenced by political motivations.”
“Based on the result of the latest census, there should now be a reapportionment of the legislative districts of the country,” the bill said in its explanatory notes.
The bill called for the reapportionment of existing representations, wherein a minimum population of at least 400,000 people will constitute one district, provided that no existing district will be deprived of its representation.
It also proposed that a city or province with a population of at least 250,000 will have at least one representative.
‘More difficult’
In a message to the Inquirer, Rodriguez explained: “One hundred nine million Filipinos divided by 400,000 for each district will be ideally 273 districts. Instead of a 250,000 population, new districts need to have 400,000 [each].
“This requirement will now make it more difficult to create new districts,” said the Cagayan de Oro lawmaker, who also chairs the House committee on constitutional amendments.
Filed on Dec. 13, the bill is now pending before the House committee on local government.
The current House membership of 312 congressmen includes 251 district representatives and 61 party-list lawmakers. Two districts are currently under “caretaker” representatives.
Party-list seats, too
According to the 2020 national census, the reference point of the bill, there were 109,035,343 Filipinos as of May 1 that year.
Should the bill be passed, the likely increase in House membership will not only apply to the districts but also to party list seats, which should be equivalent to 20 percent of the legislative districts.
