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Thelegislative districts of Benguet are the representations of theprovince ofBenguet in thevarious national legislatures of thePhilippines. The province is currently represented in thelower house of theCongress of the Philippines through itslone congressional district.
In 1917, the undividedMountain Province, of which Benguet was a component sub-province, was provided representation in thePhilippine 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'supper house by two senators from the12th senatorial district, both appointed by theGovernor-General.[1] Three assembly members, also appointed by the Governor-General, were to represent theMountain Province and thechartered city ofBaguio in thelower house as asingle at-large district.[1]
The residents of Benguet and the rest of the Mountain Province only began electing representatives through popular vote in1935 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'ssecond district, which also included the city ofBaguio.[2]
In the disruption caused by theSecond World War, the Mountain Province senttwo delegates to theNational Assembly of the Japanese-sponsoredSecond Philippine Republic: one was the provincial governor (anex officio member), while the other was elected through a provincial assembly ofKALIBAPI members during theJapanese occupation of the Philippines.Baguio, being a chartered city, wasrepresented separately in this short-lived legislative body. Upon the restoration of thePhilippine Commonwealth in 1945, district representation was restored to the pre-war setup: the sub-province ofBenguet andBaguio remained part of Mountain Province'ssecond district.
The enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966 made the sub-province ofBenguet into a full-fledged province.[3] Per Section 10 of R.A. 4695Baguio was to be part of the newly independent province's representative district.[3] Benguet, along with Baguio, began electing its separate representative starting inthe next general election.
Benguet was represented in theInterim Batasang Pambansa as part ofRegion I from 1978 to 1984. The province returnedone representative, elected at-large, to theRegular Batasang Pambansa in1984.Baguio separately elected itsown 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 thefirst district of Benguet, while the actual province itself comprised thesecond district. Both elected members to the restored House of Representatives startingthat same year.
Starting in1995 thefirst district was re-designated as the "Legislative district of Baguio", thereby making thesecond district Benguet'slone 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.
| 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[a] |
| vacant[b] | |
| 19th Congress 2022–2025 | Eric G. Yap |
| Period | Representative[6] |
|---|---|
| 7th Congress 1969–1972 | Andres A. Cosalan |
Notes
| Period | Representative[6] |
|---|---|
| 8th Congress 1987–1992 | Honorato Y. Aquino |
Notes
| Period | Representative[6] |
|---|---|
| 8th Congress 1987–1992 | Samuel M. Dangwa |
| Period | Representative[6] |
|---|---|
| Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986 | Samuel M. Dangwa |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)