Legislative districts of Palawan

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The legislative districts of Palawan are the representations of the province of Palawan and the highly urbanized city of Puerto Princesa in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province and the city are currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through their first, second, and third congressional districts.

History[edit]

Areas now under the jurisdiction of Palawan were represented under the districts of Calamianes, Paragua, and Balabac in the Malolos Congress from 1898 to 1899.[1] Paragua and Balabac had two delegates each, while Calamianes had three. Paragua was later renamed to Palawan in 1903 and Calamianes and Balabac were dissolved and annexed to Palawan.[2]

Palawan later comprised a single assembly district from 1907 to 1972. 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 eighth senatorial district which elected two out of the 24-member senate.

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. Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the province continued to comprise a lone district.

The province was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region IV-A from 1978 to 1984, and elected one representative, at large, to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Palawan was reapportioned into two congressional districts under the new Constitution[3] 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. 10171 in 2012 separated Puerto Princesa and Aborlan from the second district to form the third district,[4] which first elected its own representative in the 2013 elections.

Current districts[edit]

The province was last redistricted in 2012, wherein the province gained its third seat in the House. All incumbent representatives are part of the majority bloc.

Legislative districts and representatives of Palawan
District Current Representative Party Constituent LGUs Population (2015)[5] Area Map
Image Name
1st Vacant[a] 415,230 7,725.90 km2
2nd Jose Alvarez
(since 2022)
PDP–Laban 399,148 6,116.50 km2
3rd Vacant[b] 290,207 3,188.35 km2
Notes
  1. ^ Seat vacant since the death of Edgardo Salvame on March 13, 2024.[6]
  2. ^ Seat vacant since the death of Edward Hagedorn on October 3, 2023.[7]

Lone District (defunct)[edit]

Period Representative
1st Philippine Legislature
1907–1909
Santiago M. Patero
2nd Philippine Legislature
1909–1912
Manuel Sandoval
3rd Philippine Legislature
1912–1916
4th Philippine Legislature
1916–1919
5th Philippine Legislature
1919–1922
Ramon De Jesus
6th Philippine Legislature
1922–1925
Patricio Fernandez
7th Philippine Legislature
1925–1928
8th Philippine Legislature
1928–1931
9th Philippine Legislature
1931–1934
Claudio R. Sandoval
10th Philippine Legislature
1934–1935
1st National Assembly
1935–1938
2nd National Assembly
1938–1941
1st Commonwealth Congress
1945
Sofronio Española
1st Congress
1946–1949
2nd Congress
1949–1953
Gaudencio E. Abordo[a]
Sofronio Española
3rd Congress
1953–1957
Gaudencio E. Abordo
4th Congress
1957–1961
5th Congress
1961–1965
6th Congress
1965–1969
Ramon V. Mitra, Jr.[b]
7th Congress
1969–1972
vacant

Notes

  1. ^ Replaced by Sofronio Española as per House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal decision on March 6, 1953.
  2. ^ Elected to the Senate in 1971.

At-Large (defunct)[edit]

1898–1899[edit]

Period Representatives
Malolos Congress
1898–1899
Felipe Calderón
Domingo Colmenar

1943–1944[edit]

Period Representative
National Assembly
1943–1944
Iñigo R. Peña
Patricio Fernandez (ex officio)

1984–1986[edit]

Period Representative
Regular Batasang Pambansa
1984–1986
Ramon V. Mitra, Jr.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Malolos Congress: A Centennial publication on the inauguration of the Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899 - January 3, 1999)". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 1999. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Act No. 1363 (28 June 1905), An Act Changing the Name of the Province and Island of Paragua to That of Palawan, retrieved January 13, 2023
  3. ^ "1987 Constitution of the Philippines - Apportionment Ordinance". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  4. ^ Republic Act No. 10171 (19 July 2012), An Act reapportioning the Province of Palawan into three (3) legislative districts, retrieved August 10, 2016
  5. ^ "TABLE 1. Population of legislative districts by Region, Province, and selected Highly Urbanized/Component City : 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (March 13, 2024). "Romualdez: Palawan solon Salvame's death leaves big gap in Congress". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  7. ^ Quismoro, Ellson (October 3, 2023). "Palawan Congressman Hagedorn passes away". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 3, 2023.