Congress OKs bill for the creation of separate congressional district for General Santos City

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017, the House of Representatives, on its third and final reading has approved House Bill 5162 which seeks to separate the City of General Santos from the First Legislative District of the Province of South Cotabato.

Authored by Congressman Pedro Acharon Jr., House Bill 5162 also seeks for the creation of a lone congressional or legislative district for the city.

The bill will now be transmitted to the Senate. According to reports, Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara has signified to sponsor and facilitate the passage of its counterpart measure.

Based on the 2015 Census, the City of General Santos now has around 594,000 population with an annual average population growth rate of 1.91 percent since 2010.

At present, the first district of South Cotabato is composed of General Santos City and the municipalities of Tupi, Tampakan and Polomolok.