KALIBO, Aklan – Gov. Florencio Miraflores sees no reason that the Senate won’t approve the bill that seeks to divide Aklan into two legislative districts.
The redistricting bill is now up for Senate action after it was passed at the House of Representatives on its final reading on May 28.
Miraflores said senators will discuss the bill when they resume regular session on Aug. 28.
“There is no usually debate on the bill,” the governor stressed.
The proponents of the bill said Aklan satisfies the constitutional requirement of having two legislative districts, citing Section 5, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution that requires one legislative representative for a population of at least 250,000 inhabitants.
The proposed 1st district is composed of Kalibo, New Washington, Banga, Batan, Altavas, Balete, Libacao, and Madalag with a total population of about 297,318.
The proposed 2nd district, on the other hand, is composed of Buruanga, Malay, Nabas, Ibajay, Tangalan, Makato, Numancia, Lezo, and Malinao with a population of about 277,505.
The populations in two proposed districts were based on the 2015 census of the government.
In 2015, the Senate failed to pass a version of the Aklan redistricting bill during the final days of the legislative session before the deadline of the filing of candidacy for the May 2016 local elections, the reason that another version of the bill was re-filed. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
