Former N. Cotabato guv to seek Congress post

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Former North Cotabato Governor Manny Pinol has expressed intention to run as representative of the third district in the province that would be created anytime soon.

Pinol, in his speech during the culmination activities of the 61st foundation anniversary of the municipality of M'lang, said he is interested in running for the post.

M'lang, Pinol's hometown, would be included in the proposed third legislative district, along with towns of Banisilan, Matalam, Kabacan, Carmen, and Tulunan.

The Senate version of the bill creating a third district in North Cotabato has already been passed in the third and final reading last June, according to Cotabato Representative Nancy Catamco (2nd district), one of the proponents of House Bill 4111.

According to the proponent of Senate Bill 2945, the creation of an additional district is in the interest of proper democratic and proportional representation.

The approved bill is already due for submission to the Office of the President for it to become a law.

"This is just a parochial concern. It doesn't have to go through the bicameral conference committee. Since both of the representatives from the province agreed to the bill, the process went smoothly," Catamco said.

They based the proposal from a resolution passed in 2008 by Cotabato 2nd district Board Member Jose Tejada, also a resident of M'lang town.

Catamco explained that there is no need for a plebiscite.

The bill is in compliance with the requirements laid down in the 1987 Constitution, which states that each legislative district, with a minimum population of 250,000, shall comprise contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory.

Catamco said the bill was pushed through to cater to the growing population of the province.

"We proposed such bill so that peoples' needs and concerns would be given importance," she said.

Citing data from the National Statistics Office, the province has a population of 1.22 million.

"With this population, we are qualified to create another two districts," she said.

Under the bill, the first legislative district shall be composed of the municipalities of Pikit, Pigcawayan, Alamada, Libungan, Midsayap, and Aleosan.

The second legislative district would be comprised of Kidapawan City and the towns of Makilala, Magpet, Roxas, Antipas, and Arakan.

The towns of Banilisan, Carmen, Kabacan, Matalam, M’lang, and Tulunan shall constitute the proposed third legislative district.

With Pinol's pronouncement of his intention to run as representative in Cotabato's third district, he has given up his early plans to run as governor in 2013, sources close to the former governor said.

In 2010, Pinol run and lost to incumbent Cotabato Governor Lala Mendoza, former representative of the province's first district.