TEE NIIIONAS lAIIDING IIEWSPA}EI'

Southern Leyte officials favor new congressional district

By ARIEIO ETTE MARIICIO
TACLOBAN City - Top of{icials in
Southern Lelte believe the crcation ofa
new legislative district in the province will
help boost its growth.
R€p. Roger Mercado said the province
would benefrt from the formation of the
new district in terms of policy-maling and
appmval of development plans.
"I am gratified to our President for
approving this landmark legislation.
Congress is a place wherc the voice of the
people can be heard and expressed. This
means a lot to us bbcause ther€ will be two
voices that will represent our province,"
Mercado said.
. HeauthorcdHouseBill633l,whichwas
signed by President Duterte as Republic
Act (Rl0 No. 11198, dividingthe lone district
of Southern Lelte into two districts.
Southern Le,'te was part of Leyte
prOvince in the 1960s.
Under the measure, the first district Meanwhile, Mercado said that the
City elected representative in the May elec
.will be composed of its capital Maasin
Macrohon, PadrcBwgos, Limasawa, Mal' tionswillserveas the caretakerofthe two
'
itbos sosod, rbmas oppus, and Bontoc.
The second district will be made up
of Liloan, San FYancisco, Pintuyan, San
Ricardo, Saint Bernard, Arnhawan, San
Juan, Hinundayan, Hinunangan, and
Silago.
Earlie4 Vice Governor Chrisbopher-
son Yap said having two congressional
districts would help them deliver efficient
services to the people.
''It would be easier for us to lalow lhe
needs of our people because we can hold
ofEce in the two districts so they would
no longer need to go to Maasin to reach
us," Yap said.
I Mercado added thal the new law sig-
nifies that the province has impmved its
economy; its population has increased;
and its land area is big enough to have
h o districts.
Based on the 2015 census, Southem
Leyte has a population of 421,750, almost
double the 250,000 requirement for the
s€ation ofa legislative district.
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