Cadiao pushes to split Antique into two districts

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao said she will prioritize dividing the province into two congressional districts as she runs for the province’s lone district representative in the 2025 midterm elections.

“Antique is a large province with a population of over 650,000, surpassing the threshold required by law,” she told Daily Guardian.

“A congressman can serve more effectively if responsible for only around 250,000 constituents. Serving a larger population can make the role less effective,” she emphasized.

Cadiao also highlighted that having two congressional districts would help ensure quicker and more efficient government services for residents.

She added that fulfilling this goal would honor a long-standing promise made by former Antique Congresswoman and now Senator Loren Legarda, who represented the province for three terms.

The same promise, she noted, was made by Loren’s brother, Congressman Agapito Antonio “AA” Legarda, who is currently serving his first term.

“That was Loren’s promise when she was still congresswoman, and it was also AA’s. They have both served multiple terms, yet this has not been accomplished,” Cadiao stressed.

Antique, consisting of 18 towns, has a population of more than 625,000, according to data from the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index of the Department of Trade and Industry.

As of now, no resolution or bill has been filed in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to divide the province into two districts.

In October 2022, Antique residents launched a signature campaign supporting the split, following resolutions passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) and the Liga ng Mga Barangay.

Both petitions urged the Legarda siblings and Antiqueño Congressman, COO-NATTCO Partylist Rep. Felimon Espares, to introduce a bill for this purpose.

Vice Governor Edgar Denosta, who authored the 2022 SP resolution, had previously proposed similar resolutions in 2016 and 2019.

The resolutions propose that the towns of Patnongon, Bugasong, Barbaza, Tibiao, Libertad, Culasi, Sebaste, Laua-an, Pandan, and Caluya would form the “north district,” while Anini-y, Valderrama, Tobias Fornier, Hamtic, Sibalom, San Remigio, San Jose, and Belison would make up the “south district.”