MANAOAG, Pangasinan – Eight congressional districts from six for Pangasinan?

Not so fast as the proposal needs further study, according to Manaoag Mayor Agerico Rosario, president of the League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP) Pangasinan chapter.

The proposed Pangasinan reapportionment or redistricting is legal but requires further consultations and meetings, he said.

“I’ve been a (provincial) board member for 12 years and have heard about redistricting. According to law, a population of 250,000 entitles you to one congressman,” said Rosario.

Newly installed ABONO Partylist Rep. Robert Estrella proposed the Pangasinan congressional reapportionment so that two more legislative districts would be created.

Under the proposal, the province will have a total of eight legislative districts, up from the current six.

Based on the 2020 Census, Pangasinan’s population was 3,163,190, estimated to be 3,200,771 in 2021. The increasing population requires expanding legislative districts for fair representation, as noted on the partylist’s social media page.

Rosario said that the proposal might not be a priority for Congress at the moment.

“What they want is to talk about and see the merits of the law. But they’re still in the groundwork. And I believe, it will take a while before this will finally be considered and put into law,” he said.

Under the proposal, the First District of Pangasinan will include Bolinao, Anda, Bani, Agno, Burgos, Infanta, Dasol, Alaminos City, Sual, and Mabini.

Second District will be composed of Labrador, Bugallon, Lingayen, Aguilar, Mangatarem, and Binmaley.

Third District will have Calasiao, Malasiqui, Mapandan, Sta. Barbara, and San Carlos City

Fourth District will be Dagupan City, Mangaldan, San Fabian, and San Jacinto.

Fifth District will have Sison, Pozorrubio, Laoac, Binalonan, Urdaneta City, and Manaoag.

Sixth District: San Manuel, San Quintin, Umingan, Tayug, Natividad, and San Nicolas.

Seventh District: Sto. Tomas, Rosales, Asingan, Villasis, Sta. Maria, and Balungao.

Eighth District: Bautista, Bayambang, Urbiztondo, Basista, and Alcala.

Rosario’s town would be in the fifth legislative district, instead of the current fourth district.

“That’s what’s surprising because we’re already happy with the fourth district. Being the smallest district, we’ll still be removed,” he said.

He said this requires further consultation for it to be implemented.