By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The bill proposing the division of Bacolod City into two districts is still pending before the House of Representatives.

Negros Occidental 6th district Congresswoman Mercedes Alvarez, House Committee on Local Government chairperson, made the statement yesterday morning after reports circulated that the redistricting bill is “dead.”

Alvarez said the bill is very much alive, and they are waiting for the opinion of the government agencies involved in the redistricting.

According to the lawmaker, the bill is already in her committee.

However, the discussion on the funds to be allocated for redistricting has not been tackled yet because the national budget for 2024 was prioritized.

Alvarez added that there is no schedule yet for the upcoming committee hearing on the bill.

Congressman Greg Gasataya filed House Bill 297 that seeks Bacolod’s redistricting in July 2022.

The redistricting has been proposed since 2016, but the former city councilors failed to pass a resolution manifesting support for the bill.

Gasataya pointed out in his bill that there should be one representative for every 250,000 residents to ensure that a city or a province is given proper and adequate representation in Congress.

Based on the 2020 census, Bacolod has a total population of 600,783./DGB, WDJ