The legislative districts of Batangas are the representations of the province of Batangas in the various national and local legislatures of the Philippines. At present, the province is represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines by its six congressional districts, with the districts' representatives being elected every three years. Additionally, each district is allotted two seats in the Batangas Provincial Board, creating a total of twelve elective seats in the legislature.

History

Batangas was initially composed of one representative district, wherein it elected four representatives, at large, to the Malolos Congress in 1898. It was later divided into three representative districts in 1907 for the Philippine Assembly,[1] with a minor adjustment of district boundaries as mandated by Act No. 3378 (enacted on December 3, 1927) taking effect starting in the 1928 elections. When seats for the upper house of the Philippine Legislature were elected from territory-based districts between 1916 and 1935, the province formed part of the fifth senatorial district which elected two out of the 24-member senate. It remained so until 1941.

In the disruption caused by World War II, two delegates represented the province in the National Assembly of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic: one was the provincial governor (an ex officio member), while the other was elected through a provincial assembly of KALIBAPI members during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the province retained its three pre-war representative districts.

The province was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region IV-A from 1978 to 1984, and elected four representatives, at large, to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Batangas was reapportioned into four congressional districts under the new Constitution[2] which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987, and elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

The passage of Republic Act No. 10673[3] on August 19, 2015, increased the number of the province's representatives from four to six. R.A. No. 10673 separated Batangas City and Lipa from the second and fourth districts, and constituted these cities into the province's fifth and sixth districts, respectively. These two new districts elected their first separate representatives beginning in the 2016 elections.

Current districts

The province was last redistricted in 2015, wherein the province gained two seats in the House. The province's current congressional delegation composes of three members of the   Nacionalista Party, one member of   Lakas-CMD, and one member of the   Nationalist People's Coalition. All six incumbent representatives are part of the majority bloc.

Legislative districts and representatives of Batangas
District Current Representative Party Constituent LGUs Population (2020)[4] Area[5] Map
Image Name
1st Eric Buhain
(since 2022)
Balayan		 Nacionalista 635,962 924.83 km2
2nd Gerville Luistro
(since 2022)
Mabini		 Lakas–CMD 306,809 399.14 km2
3rd Ma. Theresa Collantes
(since 2016)
Tanauan		 NPC 768,561 545.73 km2
4th Lianda Bolilia
(since 2016)
Padre Garcia		 Nacionalista 472,794 757.69 km2
5th Mario Vittorio Mariño
(since 2016)
Batangas City		 Nacionalista 351,437 282.96 km2
6th Vacant[lower-alpha 1]
List
 372,931 209.40 km2
Notes
  1. ↑ Seat vacant since January 12, 2024 due to the appointment of Ralph Recto as Secretary of Finance.[6]

Historical districts and representatives

At-large (defunct)

1898–1899

Period Representatives
Malolos Congress
1898–1899		 Mariano Lopez
Gregorio Aguilera
Eduardo Gutierrez
Ambrosio Flores

1943–1944

Period Representatives
National Assembly
1943–1944		 Jose Bayani H. Laurel, Jr.
Maximo M. Malvar (ex officio)

1984–1986

Period Representatives
Regular Batasang Pambansa
1984–1986		 Manuel G. Collantes
Jose Bayani H. Laurel, Jr.
Hernando B. Perez
Rafael R. Recto

References

  1. ↑ Act No. 1582 (9 January 1907), An Act to Provide for the Holding of Elections in the Philippine Islands, for the Organization of the Philippine Assembly, and for Other Purposes, retrieved September 4, 2022
  2. ↑ "1987 Constitution of the Philippines - Apportionment Ordinance". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  3. ↑ Republic Act No. 10673 (19 August 2015), An Act Reapportioning the Province of Batangas into six (6) Legislative Districts (PDF), retrieved June 13, 2016
  4. ↑ "TABLE 1. Population of legislative districts by Region, Province, and selected Highly Urbanized/Component City : 2020" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "List of Provinces". PSGC Interactive. National Statistical Coordination Board. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  6. ↑ Gita-Carlos, Ruth Abbey (January 11, 2024). "Ralph Recto to take oath as Finance chief on Jan. 12". Retrieved January 12, 2024.
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