The provincial government and the 14 mayors of Rizal are throwing their support behind House Bill No. 336, a measure filed by Rizal Second District Rep. Fidel Nograles that would split Rizal’s second legislative district into three separate districts, giving Rizal two more legislators on top of the current four.
Rizal Gov. Rebecca “Nini” Ynares said Tuesday that “there is a consensus among Rizal officials that such a measure is long overdue given the growth of Rizal’s population.”
“There are provinces in the country with smaller populations that are represented in Congress.”
“This is why all of us in the provincial capitol––including Vice Governor San Juan and all of Rizal’s provincial board members––and all the mayors in the province support the passage of HB 336,” stressed Ynares.
Vice Governor Reynaldo San Juan Jr. likewise endorsed the bill, saying that adding legislative districts would allow Rizal legislators to better serve their constituents.
“Rep. Nograles has to serve a little more than one million constituents as the second district alone has over half the entire population of Rizal. More representation in Congress means more legislators to serve the people of Rizal,” San Juan said.
According to Rodriguez (Montalban) Mayor Dennis Hernandez, “our municipality is the second most populous LGU in Rizal, with 369,222 residents.”
The additional districts would give the province of Rizal a total of six legislative districts, two more than the number of districts it currently has.
“There are provinces in the country with smaller populations that are represented in Congress. Tingin namin fair lang na bigyan kami ng tamang representasyon,” added Hernandez.
Nograles thanked his provincemates for their support and said he was committed to get the people of Rizal “the kind of representation they deserve in Congress.”
“I am confident that my colleagues in the House will recognize the needs of my constituents and support this effort to give the people of Rizal a greater voice in the Legislature.”
House Bill No. 336 would split Rizal’s Second District––composed of the municipalities of Baras, Cardona, Jala-Jala, Morong, Pililla, Rodriguez (Montalban), San Mateo, Tanay and Teresa––into three separate legislative districts.
Under the measure, the towns of Cardona, Baras, Tanay, Morong Jala Jala, Pililia, and Teresa will be retained in the Second District, while the towns of San Mateo and Rodriguez (Montalban) will have their own districts, the Third Legislative District and Fourth Legislative District, respectively.
The additional districts would give the province of Rizal a total of six legislative districts, two more than the number of districts it currently has.