Former Bulacan Gov. Josie de la Cruz yesterday denounced move in the Senate to railroad the passage of Senate Bill 1986 seeking to convert Malolos City into a congressional district despite the glaring constitutional infirmities, particularly the non-compliance with the minimum population requirement.

De la Cruz lamented that the proponents of the measure conveniently ignored the fact that the city?s official population as authenticated by the National Statistics Office as of Aug. 1, 2007 is only at 233,069, way below the 255,000 being touted by the authors of the bill in various sponsorship speech.

The former governor, who served from 1998 to 2007, said that this is in clear violation of Section 5 (1) of the 1987 Constitution which explicitly states that any locality seeking its own seat in Congress must have 250,000 people or more living at its territory at the time of the proposed amendment. The figures being cited by Senator Mar Roxas and Bulacan Rep. Victoria Sy-Alvardo, authors and sponsors of Senate Bill 1986 and House Bill 3693, are not supported by the NSO and should be treated as hearsay.

?The proponents have no proof to show that the present population level of the city have reached the minimum requirement of 250,000 population,? Both lawmakers are seeking to amend Section 57 of Republic Act 8752 so that Malolos can be declared a lone congressional district separate from the existing Bulacan first congressional district which is composed of Paombong, Hagonoy, Calumpit and Pulilan.

Sources said that the plan behind this move to turn Malolos into a lone congressional district will enable incumbent mayor Danny Domingo to run as congressman of the new district, thus making way for his vice mayor Al Tengco to run for the city?s mayoralty post. After a three-year term, in 2013, both officials will switch places and everybody?including Sy-Alvarado who is supposed to stay as congressman of the remainder of the First District and her husband Willie the putative governor and presently the province?s vice governor?will be happy.

?Even with a growth rate of 3.5 percent, Malolos only have a population of 247,321 by 2010 and will not clearly qualify for a congressional seat,? the former Bulacan chief executive said.

?We have consulted legal experts from the Ateneo and University of the Philippines law centers and they have assured us that the move to amend the City of Malolos Charter is constitutionally infirm as it violated Section 5 [1] of the 1987 Constitution which explicitly states that in order to which explicitly states that a locality has to have more than 250,000 full-time residents to qualify for seat at Congress,? De la Cruz said Filipino.

She said various segments of the population in Malolos have expressed indignation at the lawmakers? plan to ?gerrymander? the existing first congressional district of Bulacan so that the above-mentioned politicians can have their own fiefdom just after 2010.

?The groundswell of support has been overwhelming. Various citizen groups of Malolos have continued to express our support to us in this matter. We would like to thank Attorney Victorino Aldaba and Carlo Jolette S. Fajardo for bringing this matter to our attention,? De la Cruz said.

She also expressed her disappointment over the failure of the so-called defenders of the Constitution and leading members of the Senate to detect the inherent flaws of the Roxas bill.

De la Cruz also chided Senate committee chair on local government, Senator Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino, who allow the flawed bill clear passage at the Senate without even bothering to look at its inherent flaws.

Dela Cruz urged Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile not to allow this ?zarzuela? to pass and scrutinize it more closely so that he can himself see its inherent defects especially in its documentation as she thinks that figures cited in it were fudged or falsified.

Senator Arroyo vowed to block the Senate approval of the measure when it is taken up by the plenary today, saying he will insist that SB 1986 is constitutionally infirm. ?I already pointed out the flaw to its Senate Bill No. 1986 proponent Sen. Mar Roxas that the amendment?s premise is already flawed,? Arroyo said.