ISABELA REAPPORTIONED TO 6 LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS;
SIX CONGRESSMEN NOW REPRESENTING THE PROVINCE AND THE
SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN NOW COMPOSED OF 12 ELECTED MEMBERS
President Rodrigo R. Duterte, on September 27, 2018 signed into law, Republic Act 11080, An Act Reapportioning the Province of Isabela into Six (6) Legislative Districts.
The first district is now composed of the City of Ilagan and the towns of Cabagan, Delfin Albano, Divilacan, Maconacon, Tumauini, San Pablo, Sta. Maria and Sto. Tomas.
The second district is comprised of Benito Soliven, Palanan, Naguilian, Reina Mercedes, San Mariano and Gamu; while the third district is made up of Alicia, Cabatuan, San Mateo, Ramon and Angadanan.
Santiago City, Cordon, Dinapigue, San Agustin and Jones make up the fourth district. The fifth district is composed of Aurora, Burgos, Luna, Mallig, Quezon, Quirino, Roxas, and San Manuel; while Cauayan City, Echague, San Guillermo, and San Isidro comprise the sixth legislative districts.
The Act, establishing the additional 5th and 6th districts of Isabela originated in the House of Representatives. It was passed by the House of Representatives on May 28, 2018, amended by the Senate on September 3, 2018, and which amendments were concurred in by the House of Representatives on September 10, 2018.
MORE FUNDS AND BETTER REPRESENTATION
The province of Isabela is the second largest province in the country in terms of land area, politically divided into three cities and 34 municipalities, and recorded 1,593,566 people including the highly urbanized City of Santiago with a population of 134,830, as of the 2015 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority. A first class province, Isabela is a major contributor to the country’s economic growth and development, being the number one producer of corn and the number two producer of rice in the Philippines.
The House of Representatives passed the bill principally authored by the former first district representative, now Isabela Governor Rodito Albano III who said the people of Isabela must be given equal opportunity to participate in the national legislative affairs through their legislative representatives.
The creation of additional legislative districts will ensure equitable representation for the inhabitants of the province of Isabela in the legislature and the national government. The law also seeks to strengthen the power of the people and ensure that there is proportionate number of constituents for each of the district representatives.
Article VI, Section 5, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the 1987 Constitution provides that each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city or province with a population of the least 250,000 shall have at least one representative.
The reapportionment also shows that Isabela is truly progressing and becoming a move vibrant province.
ISABELA’S REPRESENTATIVES TO THE 18TH CONGRESS
On May 14, 2019 mid-term elections, the Province of Isabela, having been reapportioned into six congressional districts, for the first time, a total of six congressional seats to the House of Representatives were elected.
Gifted with good looks and charm, Isabela’s honorable representatives to the 18th Congress also exudes youthful exuberance, namely; Hon. Antonio “Tonypet” Albano for the First District; Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go for second district; Hon. Ian Paul L. Dy for third district; Hon. Alyssa Sheena P. Tan for fourth district; Hon. Faustino Michael Carlos T. Dy III for fifth district; and Hon. Faustino “Inno” A. Dy V for sixth district.
THE 10TH SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN OF ISABELA
At the provincial level, local legislators here convened for its inaugural session at the FNDY Session Hall on July 2, 2019, this time with additional seats from district 5 and 6, joining the session. Vice Governor Faustino Dy III presided the session with the adoption of their Internal Rules of Procedures.
Here are the members of the 10th Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Isabela, with two members from each legislative districts service for a three-year term from 2019-2022. For the First District – Hon. Delfinito Emmanuel L. Albano and Hon. Emmanuel Joselito B. Añez; Second District – Hon. Ed Christian S. Go and Hon. Edgar Capuchino; Third District – Hon. Ramon Juan N. Reyes, Jr. and Hon. Randolf Joseph P. Arreola; Fourth District – Hon. Abegail Sable and Hon. Clifford R. Raspado; Fifth District – Hon. Faustino U. Dy IV and Hon. Edward S. Isidro; and for the Sixth District – Hon. Marco Paulo A. Meris and Hon. Alfredo V. Alili.
Hon. Delfinito Emmanuel “MM” L. Albano is the 10th SPI’s Majority Floor Leader. Albano obtained 137,103 votes from Isabela’s first district during the May 13, 2019 mid-term elections, the highest number of votes obtained from among the candidates who ran for Sangguniang Panlalawigan member in the six congressional districts
THE SECTORAL REPRESENTATIVES
In addition to the regular members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, four sectoral representatives were also confirmed to join the legislative body that will enact and adopt policies, laws and legislations for the province of Isabela.
On July 23, 2019, during the 4th regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Isabela held at the FNDY Hall, appointment of Hon. Venus T. Bautista was confirmed. She is now the Women’s Sectoral Representative.
During the 5th regular session of the SPI on August 13, 2019, two appointments for sectoral representatives were confirmed. Hon. Adrian Philip S. Baysac was confirmed as the Agricultural/Industrial Workers/ Labor Sector Representative, while Hon. Antonio Hui as Interim Philippine Councilor’s League, Isabela President.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Hon. Gretchen F. Valdez as Sectoral Representative on Indigenous Cultural Communities was also confirmed on August 20, 2019 during the SPI’s 6th regular session.
