Aquino approves creation of Cebu’s 7th district

President Benigno Aquino III recently approved the creation of the seventh legislative district of Cebu which divided the province’s current second district, which is composed of 15 towns, into two.

Aquino signed Republic Act 10684 or “An Act Creating an Additional Legislative District in the Province of Cebu to be Known as the Seventh Legislative District” last Friday, September 18.

Under RA 10684, the eight towns which will compose the seventh legislative district of Cebu are:

1. Dumanjug
2. Ronda
3. Alcantara
4. Moalboal
5. Badian
6. Alegria
7. Malabuyoc
8. Ginatilan

Meanwhile, Cebu’s second legislative district will be whittled down and will be composed of the following municipalities:

1. Argao
2. Dalaguete
3. Alcoy
4. Boljoon
5. Oslob
6. Santander
7. Samboan

The law will take effect 15 days after its publication in any newspaper of general circulation.

The bill creating Cebu’s newest legislative district was approved in the Senate last July 28. The measure was introduced in the House of Representatives by Cebu 2nd District Representative Wilfredo Caminero and was co-authored by Representatives Benhur Salimbangon, Aileen Radaza, and Gwendolyn Garcia on Ocrober 16, 2013.

In his sponsorship speech, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the creation of the new district would “boost the development efforts not only in the said area but in the whole province.”

According to the official Senate Gazette, the municipalities which will compose Cebu’s seventh legislative district have a combined population count of 200,092, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2010 census.

Cebu currently has six legislative districts and the fifth most populated province in the country with a population of 2,619,362 according to the 2010 census.