Solon pushes 3 more districts for Quezon

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

LUCENA CITY—House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez has proposed to split Quezon province into seven legislative districts, saying this would meet “socioeconomic and political demands” as the province continues to grow.

“The disproportionate number of constituents for each of Quezon’s [four] representatives hampers their ability to reach out and provide adequate representation in Congress,” Suarez, who represents Quezon’s third district, said in House Bill No. 4072, which he sponsored.

Under HB 4072, Suarez proposed the following districts: District 1 (northern Quezon), District 1B (central Quezon), Lone district of Lucena City, District 2, Bondoc Peninsula district, Lamon Bay Area district and Ragay Gulf district.

District 1, with a combined population of 291,493, will be composed of the towns of Real, Infanta, General Nakar, Mauban, Polilio, Jomalig, Patnanungan, Panukulan and Burdeos.

District 1B (240,184) will be composed of Lucban, Pagbilao, Sampaloc and Tayabas City, while the towns of San Antonio, Tiaong, Dolores, Candelaria and Sariaya will become District 2 (428,484).

The capital Lucena City (266,248), currently with the second district, will become a separate district.

Bondoc Peninsula district (325,565) will be composed of Padre Burgos, Agdangan, Unisan, Pitogo, Macalelon, General Luna, Catanauan, Mulanay and San Francisco towns.

The towns of Atimonan, Plaridel, Gumaca, Lopez, Calauag, Alabat, Perez and Quezon will form the Lamon Bay area district (359,581) while the Ragay Gulf district (211,275) will be composed of San Andres, San Narciso, Buenavista, Guinayangan and Tagkawayan towns.

Suarez said the additional representatives for Quezon will require an extra P24-million to P30-million allocation in the annual national budget.

Asked about Suarez’s proposal, Rep. Trina Enverga of the first district said: “I’m keeping my option open. Proposals for redistricting may be discussed better once Charter change started to roll as the proposed federal setup entails a national redistricting of legislative districts.”