The Senate approved on third and final reading on Monday, a bill that would create more legislative districts in the Rizal province.
Voting 23-0-0, senators passed House Bill No. 6222, which proposes to reapportion the second district into three districts.
The bill proposes to retain in Rizal's second district the municipalities of Cardona, Baras, Tanay, Morong, Jalajala, Pililla, and Teresa.
San Mateo, meanwhile, will become the third congressional district, while the municipality of Rodriguez will be the fourth district of the province.
The House of Representatives passed the bill last June, 2020.
Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino, chairman of the Committee on Local Government and sponsor of the bill, said that with the measure is expected to give Rizal residents the "proper representation" and help the local government units "to better respond to the needs of the people".
He said the bill will also facilitate the long-term rehabilitation and the capacity-building efforts of the province after the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the deliberations on the local bill, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Pia Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Richard Gordon, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel III, and Joel Villanueva, requested to be made co-sponsors of the bill.