Legislative districts of South Cotabato
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The Legislative districts of South Cotabato are the representations of the province of South Cotabato 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 first and second congressional districts.
General Santos, a highly urbanized city since 1988, only votes as part of the first congressional district of South Cotabato for the purposes of electing congressional representatives.
The now-defunct 3rd district automatically became the representation of Sarangani upon its establishment in 1992, but it was in 1995 that this new province first elected a representative under its own name.
History
Prior to gaining separate representation, areas now under the jurisdiction of South Cotabato were represented under the Department of Mindanao and Sulu (1917–1935) and the undivided province of Cotabato (1935–1967).
Republic Act No. 4849, enacted on 18 June 1966, created the province of South Cotabato from the southern municipalities of the old Cotabato province.[1] Normally in this time period chartered cities — by virtue of being independently governed — are not enumerated as part of new provinces. However, given that the legality of the plebiscite results which ratified the Charter of the City of Rajah Buayan (Republic Act No. 4413, enacted on 19 June 1965[2]) was still being decided in the courts at the time of R.A. 4849's approval, Section 1 of the said law explicitly listed the City of Rajah Buayan as part of South Cotabato in case it reverted to its former status as the municipality of General Santos, which eventually happened on 29 October 1966 when the Supreme Court nullified the 6 December 1965 COMELEC proclamation declaring the creation of the new chartered city.[3]
Per Section 5 of R.A. 4849, South Cotabato's first separate representative was elected in a special election held on the same day as the 1967 senatorial elections[1] and began to serve starting in the second half of the 6th Congress. When General Santos finally became a city under the same name on 15 June 1968 by virtue of Republic Act No. 5412, it remained part of the representation of South Cotabato in accordance with Section 104 of its city charter.[4]
South Cotabato was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region XI from 1978 to 1984. The province returned three representatives, elected at-large, to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984.
Under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on 11 February 1987, the province was reapportioned into three congressional districts;[5] each elected its member to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.
The passage of Republic Act No. 7228 and its subsequent ratification by plebiscite on 11 May 1992 separated South Cotabato's entire third district to create the new province of Sarangani.[6] This automatically reduced the province's representation to two districts. The former third district first elected a representative under the designation Lone congressional district of Sarangani beginning in the 1995 election.
House Bill No. 4678, filed on 13 December 2016 by the term-limited incumbent representative of the first district, seeks to segregate the highly urbanized city of General Santos from the said district to form its own congressional district, separate from the representation of South Cotabato.[7] This bill is yet to be approved into law.
1st District
- City: General Santos1
- Municipalities: Polomolok, Tampakan, Tupi
- Population (2015): 856,536[8]
| Period | Representative[9] |
|---|---|
| 8th Congress 1987–1992 |
Adelbert W. Antonino |
| 9th Congress 1992–1995 |
Luwalhati R. Antonino |
| 10th Congress 1995–1998 | |
| 11th Congress 1998–2001 | |
| 12th Congress 2001–2004 |
Darlene R. Antonino-Custodio |
| 13th Congress 2004–2007 | |
| 14th Congress 2007–2010 | |
| 15th Congress 2010–2013 |
Pedro B. Acharon Jr. |
| 16th Congress 2013–2016 | |
| 17th Congress 2016–2019 | |
- ^1 Does not vote for provincial officials since becoming a highly urbanized city in 1988. Only votes with South Cotabato for representation in the various national legislatures.
2nd District
- City: Koronadal
- Municipalities: Banga, Lake Sebu, Norala, Santo Niño, Surallah, Tantangan, T'Boli
- Population (2015): 653,199[8]
| Period | Representative[9] |
|---|---|
| 8th Congress 1987–1992 |
Hilario L. De Pedro III |
| 9th Congress 1992–1995 |
Daisy P. Avance-Fuentes |
| 10th Congress 1995–1998 | |
| 11th Congress 1998–2001 | |
| 12th Congress 2001–2004 |
Arthur Y. Pingoy, Jr. |
| 13th Congress 2004–2007 | |
| 14th Congress 2007–2010 | |
| 15th Congress 2010–2013 |
Daisy P. Avance-Fuentes |
| 16th Congress 2013–2016 |
Ferdinand L. Hernandez |
| 17th Congress 2016–2019 | |
3rd District (defunct)
| Period | Representative[9] |
|---|---|
| 8th Congress 1987–1992 |
James L. Chiongbian |
| 9th Congress 1992–1995 |
Lone District (defunct)
- encompasses present-day provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato, and the highly urbanized city of General Santos
| Period | Representative[9] |
|---|---|
| 6th Congress 1965–1969 |
see Lone district of Cotabato |
| James L. Chiongbian1 | |
| 7th Congress 1969–1972 | |
- ^1 Won the special election held on 14 November 1967 to fill the new province's congressional seat; took oath of office on 22 January 1968 and served for the remainder of the 6th Congress.[9]
At-Large (defunct)
- encompasses present-day provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato, and the highly urbanized city of General Santos
| Period | Representatives[9] |
|---|---|
| Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986 |
Rufino B. Bañas |
| Hilario B. De Pedro | |
| Rogelio Garcia |
See also
References
- 1 2 Congress of the Philippines (18 June 1966). "Republic Act No. 4849 - An Act Creating the Province of South Cotabato". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ↑ Congress of the Philippines (19 June 1965). "Republic Act No. 4413 - An Act Creating the City of Rajah Buayan". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ↑ Supreme Court of the Philippines (29 October 1966). "G.R. No. L-25469 - ELIGIO T. LEYVA and IRENEO L. SANTIAGO, petitioners, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, MUNICIPALITY OF GENERAL SANTOS, COTABATO, MUNICIPAL MAYOR, MUNICIPAL VICE-MAYOR, MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF GENERAL SANTOS, COTABATO, respondents". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ↑ Congress of the Philippines (15 June 1968). "Republic Act No. 5412 - An Act Creating the City of General Santos". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ↑ 1986 Constitutional Commission (2 February 1987). "1987 Constitution of the Philippines - Apportionment Ordinance". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ↑ Congress of the Philippines (16 March 1992). "Republic Act No. 7228 - An Act Creating the Province of Sarangani". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- ↑ Acharon, Jr., Pedro B. (13 December 2016). "House Bill No. 4678 - An Act Creating the Lone Legislative District of the City of General Santos" (PDF). Republic of the Philippines, House of Representatives. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- 1 2 "Population of Population of Legislative Districts by Region, Province, and Selected Highly Urbanized/Component City: 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Congressional Library Bureau. "Roster of Philippine Legislators". Republic of the Philippines, House of Representatives. Retrieved 23 February 2017.