VICE presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio revealed that the proposed fourth congressional district in the city failed to gained support at the House of Representatives.
"I tried that during my term, but wala siya nag-gain og support sa mga members (it did not gain support among members) of the House of Representatives," Duterte-Carpio said on Monday, May 2, in her regular interview streamed live on her official Facebook page.
The proposal for a fourth congressional district was opened to the 19th City Council by Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang in 2019.
His initial proposal, though, was to add three more districts, from the current three district set-up.
Dayanghirang, in a previous report, said the city is qualified for an additional district based on Section 5, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Under the law, "Congress shall make a reapportion of legislative districts based on the standards fixed in this selection."
One of the provisions of the law states that a legislative district must have a minimum population of 250,000.
According to the 2020 census of population and house of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Davao City's population already reached more than 1.7 million.
Dayanghirang said the proposal, which was recommended by the City Planning Development Office, aims to effectively deliver the programs and services of the local government.
But Duterte-Carpio said in a previous interview that the City Planning Development Office (CPDO), on its study, has recommended pushing for only one congressional district for the meantime due to inadequate fund sourcing.
Meanwhile, the mayor said in her recent interview that adding another district in the city should be discussed by the local government and the members of the House of Representatives.
"So wala nako ana (I’m hands off on that matter)," she said.
She said the next administration should plan how it can spread the city's resources and budget to various officies which can be utilized among Dabawenyos.
"What we'll try next time is make do kung kinsa naa diha nga mga (who will be the elected) Congressman and plan kung paunsa nato mabuhat ang (how we can create) collaboration para ma-spread nato ang (so we can spread) resources and budget sa kanya-kanyang mga (among various) offices para makatabang sa mga (to help) Dabawenyo," Duterte-Carpio said.
She said she has not yet fully discussed the matter among officials.
The proposed additional district had received mixed reviews, including from candidates for the first district.
Businessman Jamal Kanan said in a radio interview that adding another district in the city would just be an additional cost for the City Government.
For Maria Victoria Maglana, she questioned the need for an additional district, adding that it is uncertain how a fourth district would address problems.
She said adding another district would only address the political rivalries in the city for them to be given an area wherein they can run for elections.