Noynoy to bring fight vs CamSur redistricting to SC

Presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will file a petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday to declare as unconstitutional the recently signed Republic Act 9716, which seeks to create a new legislative district in Camarines Sur. Aquino, chairman of the Senate local government committee, has been against the approval of the measure, saying it did not comply with the population requirement. He cited Article VI Section 5, sub-sections 1 and 3, of the Constitution which states that those who shall be elected from legislative districts should be in accordance with the number of inhabitants. Under RA 9716, the province's first district will be divided into two - one with a population of 250,000 and the second 170,000. This is 80,000 people short of complying with the 250,000 population requirement for a congressional district. The law is believed to benefit presidential son Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo, the incumbent congressman of Camarines Sur's first district. Oppositors of the measure including Aquino suspect that the redistricting is being pushed to accommodate Rep. Arroyo in next year's elections, as the district's former congressman, current Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, is rumored to be eyeing Congress again. It was the younger Arroyo who replaced Andaya, who was the district's representative for three consecutive terms, the limit of stay of a congressmen under the Constitution. - GMANews.TV