Legislative districts of Surigao del Norte

The Legislative Districts of Surigao del Norte are the representations of the province of Surigao del Norte 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 districts.

History

Surigao del Norte was initially represented as part of the lone assembly district of Surigao in 1907. When seats for the upper house of the Philippine Legislature were elected from territory-based districts between 1916 and 1935, the undivided Province of Surigao formed part of the eleventh senatorial district which elected two out of the 24-member senate.

In the disruption caused by the Second World War, two delegates represented the undivided 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. This lasted until 1960, when the enactment of Republic Act No. 2786 on June 19, 1960 split the old province into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, and provided the new provinces separate representations in Congress.^[1] The new province of Surigao del Norte first elected its own representative in the 1961 elections.

Surigao del Norte was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region X from 1978 to 1984, and elected one representative to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. The province was reapportioned into two congressional districts under the new Constitution^[2] 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. 9355^[3] on October 2, 2006 separated the seven municipalities of the newly-created province of Dinagat Islands from the first district beginning in the 2007 elections. Despite Dinagat Islands being nullified as a province by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on February 11, 2010^[4] the decision was not yet rendered final and executory before the May 10, 2010 elections; therefore the Commission on Elections still organized the elections for the congressional representative of Dinagat Islands along with separate provincial officials.^[5] The representatives of the reconfigured first district of Surigao del Norte and the lone district of Dinagat Islands continued to represent their own constituencies even after the Supreme Court rendered its original decision final and executory on May 18, 2010.^[6]

After the Supreme Court reversed its ruling on April 12, 2011,^[6] and subsequently upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9355 and the creation of Dinagat Islands as a province with finality through an Entry of Judgment on October 24, 2012,^[7] the separation of Dinagat Islands from Surigao del Norte's first district became permanent.

1st District

• Municipalities: Burgos, Dapa, Del Carmen, General Luna, Pilar, San Benito, San Isidro, Santa Monica, Socorro
• Population (2010): 109,204

Period	Representative
14th Congress 2007–2010	Francisco T. Matugas
15th Congress 2010–2013
16th Congress 2013–2016
17th Congress 2016–2019	Francisco Jose F. Matugas II

1987–2007

• Municipalities: Basilisa, Burgos, Cagdianao, Dapa, Del Carmen, Dinagat, Libjo, Loreto, General Luna, Pilar, San Benito, San Isidro, San Jose, Santa Monica, Socorro, Tubajon

Period	Representative
8th Congress 1987–1992	Glenda B. Ecleo
9th Congress 1992–1995
10th Congress 1995–1998	Constantino H. Navarro, Jr.
11th Congress 1998–2001
12th Congress 2001–2004	Glenda B. Ecleo
13th Congress 2004–2007

2nd District

• City: Surigao City
• Municipality: Alegria, Bacuag, Claver, Gigaquit, Mainit, Malimono, Placer, San Francisco, Sison, Tagana-an, Tubod
• Population (2010): 333,564

Period	Representative
8th Congress 1987–1992	Constantino C. Navarro
9th Congress 1992–1995	Robert Z. Barbers^1
10th Congress 1995–1998
11th Congress 1998–2001	Robert "Ace" Barbers
12th Congress 2001–2004
13th Congress 2004–2007
14th Congress 2007–2010	Guillermo A. Romarate, Jr.
15th Congress 2010–2013
16th Congress 2013–2016
17th Congress 2016–2019	Robert "Ace" Barbers

^1 Assumed office as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government on April 16, 1996. Position remained vacant from this date until the end of the 10th Congress.

Lone District (defunct)

Period	Representative
5th Congress 1961–1965	Reynaldo P. Honrado
6th Congress 1965–1969	Constantino C. Navarro
7th Congress 1969–1972

At-Large (defunct)

Period	Representative
Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986	Constantino C. Navarro

See also

• Legislative district of Surigao
• Legislative district of Dinagat Islands

References

1. Congress of the Philippines (June 19, 1960). "Republic Act No. 2786". Retrieved August 9, 2016.
2. 1986 Constitutional Commission (February 2, 1986). "1987 Constitution of the Philippines - Apportionment Ordinance". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
3. Congress of the Philippines (October 2, 2006). "Republic Act No. 9355" (PDF). Retrieved August 9, 2016.
4. Rempillo, Jay B. (11 February 2010). "SC Voids Creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
5. Commission on Elections (March 9, 2010). "COMELEC Resolution No. 8790" (PDF). Retrieved August 9, 2016.
6. Nachura, Antonio Eduardo B. (April 12, 2011). "G.R. No. 180050, Promulgated: April 12, 2011". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
7. Department of Budget and Management (January 9, 2013). "IRA Shares for LGUs Jump by 37.5% in 2013". Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2016.

• Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library