EDITORIAL - Prudence

The old proposal to divide the second congressional district into two is stirring again, based on the same reasoning that the district, already deemed big enough, has become too populous and prosperous as well to be served by only one congressional representative.

The Cebu governor, who hails from the district, wants to do even more, either because he doesn't want to sound self-serving by limiting himself to the second district, or he simply cannot grasp the scope of what he is proposing -- which is to redistrict the entire province as well.

First of all, perspectives have changed because of the still unresolved PDAF scam. Now is simply not the time to talk of redistricting, especially since its immediate and palpable result is not the improvement of lives but the addition of more congressmen.

Until we have straightened things out with regard to the scam and we have charted a new direction from where the pork barrel made us stumble as a nation, maybe we should discard and disregard any and all talk of having even more congressmen.

Secondly, and even without the pork barrel scam to raise a red flag on the redistricting proposal, maybe we should all ponder on the fact that the bases for redistricting -- size, population and income -- are no longer practical measures from which to base any decisions to redistrict.

Runaway population growth and inflation, with their effect on size, are all on an inexorable march such that, if left as the only bases for redistricting, will make sure that there will be no end to redistricting at all. If left unbridled and unstopped, the time will eventually come when each barrio will be its own district.

This country is notorious for being a big American copycat. But only as an opportunistic copycat. We copy the things that provide the selfish politicos with opportunities to promote their own interests and not those that put unrestrained political interests on a leash.

In America, the number of congressmen is pegged at 435, with congressional districts determined solely by population. Determining which districts get to be represented happens only once every 10 years after the census. A district that no longer meets the population requirement is dropped and replaced by one that does.

In that way, the right to representation by means of population is upheld without having to increase the number of congressmen as the 435-man membership in the US House of Representatives is maintained. If the US, with an economy dozens of times bigger than ours, has the sense to be prudent, why can't we?