DUMAGUETE CITY - Officials of Negros Oriental province are eyeing a bill to create an additional congressional districts for the province to be able to increase their pork barrel assistance from the national government.
Second district Representative George P. Arnaiz district said over the weekend that a law should be passed raising the number of House members to 250 to accommodate new congressional districts, on top of the party list members.
Negros Oriental Governor Emilio Macias, supported by a resolution of the provincial board, also called for an additional congressional district to increase their priority assistance development fund (PDAF).
Arnaiz said Negros Oriental could qualify for two more districts based on its total population of almost 1.3 million. Under the law, a city or province is entitled to one representative for every 250,000 residents.
He said the Constitution envisioned the House of Representatives to have 250 members, 200 from the districts, and 50 from party lists, or 20 percent of the House.
Currently, the House of Representatives has 238 district representatives and 22 from party lists, according to the chamber’s website.
Third district Representative Pryde Henry Teves also supported the move to increase the districts in the province, noting that with additional congressmen, the province would get an annual PDAF of around P70 million.
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