Palawan's at-large congressional district

Palawan's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Palawan, formerly Paragua, for various national legislatures before 1987.[1] The province elected its representatives province-wide at-large from its reorganization under Article 6 of the Decreto de 18 junio de 1898 y las instrucciones sobre el régimen de las provincias y pueblos for the Malolos Congress in 1898 until the creation of a first and second district on February 2, 1987.[2][3] It was a single-member district throughout the ten legislatures of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands from 1907 to 1935, the three legislatures of the Philippine Commonwealth from 1935 to 1946, the seven congresses of the Third Philippine Republic from 1946 to 1972, and the national parliament of the Fourth Philippine Republic from 1984 to 1986.[1]

Palawan has had two instances in its history where more than one member represented it in the national legislatures. The province, still separate from Calamianes and Balabac, sent two representatives to the National Assembly (Malolos Congress) of the First Philippine Republic from 1898 to 1901 and two representatives to the National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic from 1943 to 1944.

After 1986, all representatives were elected from its congressional districts.[1]

Representation history

#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Paragua's at-large district for the Malolos Congress
District created June 18, 1898.[2][4]
–	September 15, 1898	March 23, 1901	1st			Felipe Calderón	Independent	Appointed.			Domingo Colmenar	Independent	Appointed.
#	Term of office		Legislature		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the Philippine Assembly
District re-created April 1, 1907.[5]
1	October 16, 1907	October 16, 1909	1st			Santiago M. Patero	Independent	Elected in 1907.
2	October 16, 1909	October 16, 1916	2nd			Manuel M. Sandoval	Nacionalista	Elected in 1909.
			3rd					Re-elected in 1912.
#	Term of office		Legislature		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands
(2)	October 16, 1916	June 3, 1919	4th			Manuel M. Sandoval	Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1916.
3	June 3, 1919	June 6, 1922	5th			Román de Jesús	Nacionalista	Elected in 1919.
4	June 6, 1922	June 2, 1931	6th			Patricio Fernández	Nacionalista Colectivista	Elected in 1922.
			7th				Nacionalista Consolidado	Re-elected in 1925.
			8th					Re-elected in 1928.
5	June 2, 1931	September 16, 1935	9th			Claudio R. Sandoval	Nacionalista Consolidado	Elected in 1931.
			10th				Nacionalista Democrático	Re-elected in 1934.
#	Term of office		National Assembly		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines)
(5)	September 16, 1935	December 30, 1941	1st			Claudio R. Sandoval	Nacionalista Democrático	Re-elected in 1935.
			2nd				Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1938.
#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic)
District re-created September 7, 1943.[6]
–	September 25, 1943	February 2, 1944	1st			Íñigo R. Peña	KALIBAPI	Elected in 1943.			Patricio Fernández	KALIBAPI	Appointed as an ex officio member.
#	Term of office		Common wealth Congress		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
District re-created May 24, 1945.
6	June 11, 1945	May 25, 1946	1st			Sofronio T. Española	Nacionalista	Elected in 1941.
#	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
(6)	May 25, 1946	December 30, 1949	1st			Sofronio T. Española	Liberal	Re-elected in 1946.
7	December 30, 1949	March 6, 1953	2nd			Gaudencio E. Abordo	Nacionalista	Elected in 1949. Election annulled by House electoral tribunal after an electoral protest.
(6)	March 6, 1953	December 30, 1953				Sofronio T. Española	Liberal	Declared winner of 1949 elections.
(7)	December 30, 1953	December 30, 1965	3rd			Gaudencio E. Abordo	Nacionalista	Elected in 1953.
			4th					Re-elected in 1957.
			5th					Re-elected in 1961.
8	December 30, 1965	September 23, 1972	6th			Ramón Mitra Jr.	Liberal	Elected in 1965.
			7th					Re-elected in 1969. Removed from office after imposition of martial law.
District dissolved into the twenty-seat Region IV-A's at-large district for the Interim Batasang Pambansa.
#	Term of office		Batasang Pambansa		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Palawan's at-large district for the Regular Batasang Pambansa
District re-created February 1, 1984.[7]
–	July 23, 1984	March 25, 1986	2nd			Ramón Mitra Jr.	PDP–Laban	Elected in 1984.
District dissolved into Palawan's 1st and 2nd districts.

See also

• Legislative districts of Palawan

References

1. "Roster of Philippine legislators". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
2. "Decree of June 18, 1898, establishing the Dictatorial Government" (PDF). Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 2 May 2020.
3. "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines – Ordinance". Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 2 May 2020.
4. "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 3 May 2020.
5. Division of Insular Affairs (1908). Eighth Annual Report of the Philippine Commission to the Secretary of War. Elihu Root Collection of United States Documents Relating to the Philippine Islands. 253. Elihu Root, Secretary of War. Washington, D.C.: United States War Department. p. 49. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
6. "The 1943 Constitution". Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 3 May 2020.
7. "Proclamation No. 2332, s. 1984". Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 3 May 2020.