Legislative district of Mountain Province
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The Legislative District of Mountain Province is the current representation of Mountain Province in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines. The present-day provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga as well as the independent city of Baguio formed part of the old (pre-division) Mountain Province's representation until 1969. Since 1969, the representation of Mountain Province has been reduced to a lone district, confined only to the limits of the former sub-province of Bontoc.
History
The passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act by the United States Congress in 1916 extended legislative representation to what were then non-Christian-majority areas of the Philippines for the first time. These areas included the seven provinces of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu (Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu and Zamboanga), Nueva Vizcaya, the Mountain Province and Baguio City.
The Revised Administrative Code (Act No. 2711) enacted on March 10, 1917 further elaborated on the manner by which these areas would be represented. The non-Christian areas were represented in the upper house's 12th senatorial district (Philippine Senate) by two senators, both appointed by the Governor-General. Similarly, the nine new lower house representatives — five representatives from the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, three from the undivided Mountain Province (including the independent city of Baguio) and one from Nueva Vizcaya — were also appointed, and not elected. The appointment of these members of the Legislature did not require the consent of the upper house; the appointive legislators were also not necessarily required to be residents of the areas they represented.[1] For example, Assemblyman Pedro Aunario, a resident of Manila,[2] and Senator Lope K. Santos, a resident of Rizal, were among the representatives of the Mountain Province.
By virtue of Act No. 4203 enacted by the Philippine Legislature on July 23, 1935, the Mountain Province's lower house representation was made elective through popular vote, and the province was divided into three districts with definite territorial composition. The territory comprising the present-day 10-municipality Mountain Province was, in 1935, still divided between the sub-provinces of Bontoc and Lepanto; areas within Bontoc (currently seven municipalities) were represented in the undivided province's first district, while those within Lepanto (currently three municipalities) were represented in the third district. Although the sub-province of Lepanto was dissolved and annexed to the sub-province of Bontoc shortly afterwards, the boundaries between the three representative districts remained unaltered.
In the disruption caused by the Second World War, 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. Baguio was represented separately in this short-lived legislative body.
Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the expanded sub-province of Bontoc remained split between the old Mountain Province's first and third districts, which lasted until 1969. The enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966 made the expanded sub-province of Bontoc into a full-fledged province that retained the name "Mountain Province." The new (post-division) Mountain Province began electing its own representative starting in the next general election.
Mountain Province was represented as part of Region I from 1978 to 1984, and elected one representative to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. It retained its lone congressional district under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987, and elected its member to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.
Lone District
- Population (2010): 154,187
Period | Representative |
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1969–1972 |
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1984–1986 |
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1987–1992 | |
1992–1995 | |
1995–1998 | |
1998–2001 |
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2001–2004 |
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2004–2007 |
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2007–2010 | |
2010–2013 |
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2013–2016 |
- ^1 Died on February 8, 2008.
1st District (defunct)
- Sub-province of Apayao: Calanasan (Bayag), Conner, Kabugao, Luna, Namaltugan (dissolved 1936), Tauit (dissolved 1936), Pudtol (established 1959), Flora (established 1963), Santa Marcela (established 1967)
- Sub-province of Bontoc: Barlig, Bontoc, Natonin, Sabangan, Sadanga, Sagada, Tinglayan (later transferred to Kalinga sub-province), Paracales (Paracelis) (established 1962)
- Sub-province of Kalinga: Balbalan, Lubuagan, Pinukpuk, Tabuk, Tanudan, Liwan (established 1965), Pasil (established 1966)
Period | Representative |
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1935–1938 |
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1938–1941 | |
1941–1946 |
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1946–1949 | |
1949–1953 |
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1953–1957 |
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1957–1961 |
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1961–1965 |
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1965–1969 |
2nd District (defunct)
- Baguio City1
- Sub-province of Benguet: Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Itogon, Kabayan, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay
Period | Representative |
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1935–1938 |
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1938–1941 |
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1941–1946 | |
1946–1949 |
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1949–1953 |
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1953–1957 | |
1957–1961 | |
1961–1965 | |
1965–1969 |
- ^1 Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since 1909 by virtue of Act No. 1964. Only voted as part of Mountain Province for congressional representation.
3rd District (defunct)
- Sub-province of Ifugao: Banaue, Lagawe (Burnay), Hungduan, Kiangan, Mayoyao, Potia (established as municipal district in 1955[3]), Lamut (established as municipal district in 1959)
- Sub-province of Lepanto (later dissolved, annexed to Bontoc): Banaao (annexed to Tadian), Bauko, Besao, Tadian (Kayan)
Period | Representative |
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1935–1938 |
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1938–1941 |
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1941–1946 |
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1946–1949 |
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1949–1953 | |
1953–1957 |
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1957–1961 | |
1961–1965 | |
1965–1969 |
At-Large (defunct)
Period | Representatives |
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1916–1919 |
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1919–1922 |
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1922–1925 |
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1925–1928 |
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1928–1931 |
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1931–1934 |
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1934–1935 |
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1943–1944 |
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See also
- Legislative district of Benguet
- Legislative district of Baguio City
- Legislative district of Ifugao
- Legislative district of Kalinga-Apayao
References
- ↑ Cain, Andrew W. (1917). Philippine Government. Philippine Education Company, Inc. p. 57.
- ↑ Cain, Andrew W. (1917). Philippine Government. Philippine Education Company, Inc. p. 157.
- ↑ "An Act Creating the Municipal District of Potia in the Mountain Province". LawPH.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
- Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library