Senator Emmanuel ?Manny? Pacquiao has filed a bill that seeks to create a separate congressional district for General Santos City.
Pacquiao filed Senate Bill No. 1487, ?an Act separating the City of General Santos from the first legislative district of the province of South Cotabato to constitute the lone legislative district of General Santos.?
The senator cited Article VI, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that : ?Each legislative district shall comprise as far as practicable, continuous, compact and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative.?
The province of South Cotabato is divided into three legislative districts.
The first district is made up of the City of General Santos and the municipalities of Polomok, Tupi and Tampakan.
