TACLOBAN CITY — Mayor Alfred Romualdez has reiterated his call for Tacloban to be granted its own congressional district, citing its designation as a highly urbanized city (HUC) and its sizable voting population.
Currently grouped under Leyte’s first congressional district along with eight other municipalities, Tacloban has over 146,000 registered voters and has been an HUC since December 2008. Despite this status, the city still shares a congressional representative with neighboring towns — something Romualdez wants changed.
“We are the only highly urbanized city in the country without a congressional district of our own,” Romualdez said during an interview on May 26. “I’ve been pushing for Tacloban to have its own congressional district.”
While he supports the initiative, the mayor said he would defer to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, his cousin and the incumbent representative of Leyte’s first district, to sponsor and file the necessary legislation.
“I’ll leave it to him because he is the congressman,” the mayor remarked.
The creation of a new congressional district requires a legislative act, and one key requirement is a minimum population of 250,000 — a criterion Romualdez believes the city already meets.
According to the mayor, establishing a separate congressional district would allow Tacloban to receive direct national government funding instead of sharing it with eight other municipalities. “If we had our own district, we would have our own budget allocation to support our programs and services,” he said.
Romualdez, now serving his third and final term as mayor, previously held the post of representative for Leyte’s first district from 1998 to 2001. His son Raymund currently serves as vice mayor, while Speaker Romualdez’s son, Martin Jr., holds a seat on the city council.
