The legislative districts of Benguet are the representations of the province of Benguet in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province is currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through its lone congressional district.

History

In 1917, the undivided Mountain Province, of which Benguet was a component sub-province, was provided representation in the Philippine Legislature. Pursuant to the Revised Administrative Code (Act No. 2711) enacted on March 10, 1917, the non-Christian-majority areas of the Philippines, which then included the Mountain Province and Baguio, were to be collectively represented in the legislature's upper house by two senators from the 12th senatorial district, both appointed by the Governor-General.[1] Three assembly members, also appointed by the Governor-General, were to represent the Mountain Province and the chartered city of Baguio in the lower house as a single at-large district.[1]

The residents of Benguet and the rest of the Mountain Province only began electing representatives through popular vote in 1935 by virtue of Act No. 4203; the law provided the territorial coverage for each lower house representative district, while also abolishing the senatorial district system.[2] The sub-province was then represented as part of the Mountain Province's second district, which also included the city of Baguio.[2]

In the disruption caused by the Second World War, the Mountain Province sent two delegates to 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. Baguio, being a chartered city, was represented separately in this short-lived legislative body. Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, district representation was restored to the pre-war setup: the sub-province of Benguet and Baguio remained part of Mountain Province's second district.

The enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966 made the sub-province of Benguet into a full-fledged province.[3] Per Section 10 of R.A. 4695 Baguio was to be part of the newly independent province's representative district.[3] Benguet, along with Baguio, began electing its separate representative starting in the next general election.

Benguet was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region I from 1978 to 1984. The province returned one representative, elected at-large, to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Baguio separately elected its own representative in this election.

Under the new Constitution[4] which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987, Benguet was once more grouped with Baguio. The latter, though an independent city since 1909, comprised what was legally known between 1987 and 1995 as the first district of Benguet, while the actual province itself comprised the second district. Both elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

Starting in 1995 the first district was re-designated as the "Legislative district of Baguio", thereby making the second district Benguet's lone district.

Since 2019, the districts used in appropriation of members is coextensive with the legislative districts of Benguet. Prior to 2019 when the province was just one congressional district, the Commission on Elections divided the province into two provincial board districts.

Lone District

  • Population (2015): 446,224[5]
Period Representative[6]
9th Congress
1992–1995		 Samuel M. Dangwa
10th Congress
1995–1998		 Ronald M. Cosalan
11th Congress
1998–2001
12th Congress
2001–2004		 Samuel M. Dangwa
13th Congress
2004–2007
14th Congress
2007–2010
15th Congress
2010–2013		 Ronald M. Cosalan
16th Congress
2013–2016
17th Congress
2016–2019
18th Congress
2019–2022		 Nestor B. Fongwan[lower-alpha 1]
vacant[lower-alpha 2]
19th Congress
2022–2025		 Eric G. Yap

1969–1972

Period Representative[6]
7th Congress
1969–1972		 Andres A. Cosalan

Notes

  1. ↑ Died on December 18, 2019.[7]
  2. ↑ ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Go Yap was appointed caretaker representative on January 20, 2020.[8]
  3. ↑ Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since 1909 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1964. Only voted with Benguet for congressional representation.

1st District (defunct)

Period Representative[6]
8th Congress
1987–1992		 Honorato Y. Aquino

Notes

  1. ↑ Highly-urbanized city; Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since September 1, 1909 by virtue of Act No. 1964.

2nd District (defunct)

Period Representative[6]
8th Congress
1987–1992		 Samuel M. Dangwa

At-Large (defunct)

Period Representative[6]
Regular Batasang Pambansa
1984–1986		 Samuel M. Dangwa

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Philippine Legislature (1917). Revised Administrative Code of the Philippine Islands of 1917 (Act No. 2711) (Digitized Revised Administrative Code of the Philippine Islands of 1917 from the Presidential Museum and Library Collection, uploaded on February 15, 2016). Bureau of Printing. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Philippine Legislature (1937). "Public Laws Enacted by the Philippine Legislature, Acts No. 4203 to 4275". Public Resolutions, Etc. Laws, etc. Bureau of Printing Office: 5.
  3. 1 2 Congress of the Philippines (June 18, 1966). "Republic Act No. 4695 - An Act Creating the Provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao". Chan Robles Law Library. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  4. ↑ 1986 Constitutional Commission (February 2, 1987). "1987 Constitution of the Philippines - Apportionment Ordinance". Retrieved June 13, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Legislative districts". Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Congressional Library Bureau. "Roster of Philippine Legislators". Republic of the Philippines, House of Representatives. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  7. ↑ Cimatu, Frank (December 19, 2019). "Benguet Representative Nestor Fongwan dies at 68". Rappler.com. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  8. ↑ "House names party-list solon as Benguet caretaker". Philippine News Agency. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
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