New congressional district for Nueva Ecija proposed

SAN JOSE CITY – A member of the Nueva Ecija provincial board has proposed the creation of an additional congressional district in the province by redistricting the four existing ones.

Board Member Joseph Ortiz, of the Lakas-CMD party to which Gov. Aurelio Umali belongs, told The STAR that it is high time that Nueva Ecija, which has a population of 1.7 million based on the last census of the National Statistics Office, exert efforts to have at least an additional congressional district to better serve the provincial folk.

Under existing laws, a congressional district could be carved out of an area which has a population of at least 250,000. Based on this alone, the province is eligible to have two additional districts, not just one.

Nueva Ecija is the biggest province in Central Luzon in terms of land area. Its four congressional districts are represented by Eduardo Nonato Joson (first), Joseph Violago (second), Czarina Umali (third), and Rodolfo Antonino (fourth).

Each congressional district is entitled to a minimum P80 million in congressional funds each year for various projects.

Ortiz said he has submitted his proposal to Umali, a former congressman himself, who is now studying it. Congress has the sole power to create a congressional district.