Legislative district of Mountain Province

The Legislative District of Mountain Province is the current representation of Mountain Province in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines. The present-day provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga, as well as the independent city of Baguio, formed part of the old (pre-division) Mountain Province's representation until 1969. Since 1969, the representation of Mountain Province has been reduced to a lone district, confined only to the limits of the former sub-province of Bontoc.

History

The passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act by the United States Congress in 1916 extended legislative representation to what were then non-Christian-majority areas of the Philippines for the first time. These areas included the seven provinces of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu (Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu and Zamboanga), Nueva Vizcaya, the Mountain Province and Baguio City.

The Revised Administrative Code (Act No. 2711), enacted on March 10, 1917, further elaborated on the manner by which these areas would be represented. The non-Christian areas were represented in the 12th district of the upper house by two senators, both appointed by the Governor-General. Similarly, the nine new lower house representatives — five representatives from the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, three from the undivided Mountain Province (including the independent city of Baguio) and one from Nueva Vizcaya — were also appointed, and not elected. The appointment of these members of the Legislature did not require the consent of the upper house; the appointive legislators were also not necessarily required to be residents of the areas they represented.^[1] For example, Assemblyman Pedro Aunario, a resident of Manila,^[2] and Senator Lope K. Santos, a resident of Rizal, were among the representatives of the Mountain Province.

By virtue of Act No. 4203 enacted by the Philippine Legislature on July 23, 1935, the senatorial district system was abolished and the Mountain Province's lower house representation was made elective through popular vote; the law divided the province into three districts with definite territorial composition. The ten municipalities that comprise the present-day Mountain Province were, in 1935, still divided between the sub-provinces of Bontoc and Lepanto; areas within Bontoc (Barlig, Bontoc, Paracelis, Natonin, Sabangan, Sadanga and Sagada) were represented in the undivided province's first district, while those within Lepanto (Bauko, Besao and Tadian) were represented in the third district. Although the sub-province of Lepanto was dissolved and annexed to the sub-province of Bontoc shortly afterwards, the boundaries between the three representative districts remained unaltered.

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. Baguio was represented separately in this short-lived legislative body.

Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the expanded sub-province of Bontoc remained split between the old Mountain Province's first and third districts, which lasted until 1969. The enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966 made the expanded sub-province of Bontoc into a full-fledged province that retained the name "Mountain Province." The new (post-division) Mountain Province began electing its own representative starting in the next general election.

Mountain Province was represented as part of Region I from 1978 to 1984, and elected one representative to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. It retained its lone congressional district under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987, and elected its member to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

Lone District

• Population (2010): 154,187

Period	Representative
7th Congress 1969–1972	Alfredo G. Lamen
8th Congress 1987–1992	Victor S. Dominguez
9th Congress 1992–1995
10th Congress 1995–1998
11th Congress 1998–2001	Josephine D. Dominguez
12th Congress 2001–2004	Roy S. Pilando
13th Congress 2004–2007	Victor S. Dominguez^1
14th Congress 2007–2010
	vacant
15th Congress 2010–2013	Maximo B. Dalog
16th Congress 2013–2016
17th Congress 2016–2019

^1 Died on February 8, 2008.

1st District (defunct)

• Sub-province of Apayao: Calanasan (Bayag), Conner, Kabugao, Luna, Namaltugan (dissolved 1936), Tauit (dissolved 1936), Pudtol (established 1959), Flora (established 1963), Santa Marcela (established 1967)
• Sub-province of Bontoc: Barlig, Bontoc, Natonin, Sabangan, Sadanga, Sagada, Tinglayan (later transferred to Kalinga sub-province), Paracales (Paracelis) (established 1962)
• Sub-province of Kalinga: Balbalan, Lubuagan, Pinukpuk, Tabuk, Tanudan, Liwan (established 1965), Pasil (established 1966)

Period	Representative
1st National Assembly 1935–1938	Saturnino Moldero
2nd National Assembly 1938–1941
3rd National Assembly 1941–1946	George K. Tait
1st Congress 1946–1949
2nd Congress 1949–1953	Antonio Canao
3rd Congress 1953–1957	Juan Bondad
4th Congress 1957–1961	Juan Duyan
5th Congress 1961–1965	Alfredo G. Lamen
6th Congress 1965–1969	Juan Duyan

2nd District (defunct)

• Baguio City¹
• Sub-province of Benguet: Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Itogon, Kabayan, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay

Period	Representative
1st National Assembly 1935–1938	Felipe E. Jose
2nd National Assembly 1938–1941	Ramon P. Mitra
3rd National Assembly 1941–1946
1st Congress 1946–1949	Jose Mencio
2nd Congress 1949–1953	Ramon P. Mitra
3rd Congress 1953–1957
4th Congress 1957–1961
5th Congress 1961–1965
6th Congress 1965–1969	Andres A. Cosalan

^1 Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since 1909 by virtue of Act No. 1964. Only voted as part of Mountain Province for congressional representation.

3rd District (defunct)

• Sub-province of Ifugao: Banaue, Lagawe (Burnay), Hungduan, Kiangan, Mayoyao, Potia (established as municipal district in 1955^[3]), Lamut (established as municipal district in 1959)
• Sub-province of Lepanto (later dissolved, annexed to Bontoc): Banaao (annexed to Tadian), Bauko, Besao, Tadian (Kayan)

Period	Representative
1st National Assembly 1935–1938	George K. Tait
2nd National Assembly 1938–1941	Miguel Gumangan
3rd National Assembly 1941–1946	Gregorio Morrero
1st Congress 1946–1949	Gabriel Dunuan
2nd Congress 1949–1953
3rd Congress 1953–1957	Luis Hora
4th Congress 1957–1961
5th Congress 1961–1965
6th Congress 1965–1969

At-Large (defunct)

1916—1935

• includes the independent city of Baguio, and the sub-provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga and Lepanto

Period	Representatives
4th Philippine Legislature 1916–1919	Rafael Bulayungan
	Juan Cariño
	Valentin Manglapus
5th Philippine Legislature 1919–1922	Pedro Aunario
	Rafael Bulayungan
	Juan Cariño
6th Philippine Legislature 1922–1925	Joaquin Cedamon
	Miguel Cornejo
	Henry A. Kamora
7th Philippine Legislature 1925–1928	Juan Cailles
	Joaquin Cedamon
	Saturnino Moldero
8th Philippine Legislature 1928–1931	Juan Cailles
	Clemente Irving
	Saturnino Moldero
9th Philippine Legislature 1931–1934	Hilary P. Clapp
	Juan Gaerlan
	Henry A. Kamora
10th Philippine Legislature 1934–1935	Emiliano P. Aguirre
	Felix P. Diaz
	Rodolfo Hidalgo

1943—1944

• includes the sub-provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao and Kalinga

Period	Representative
National Assembly 1943–1944	Florencio Bagwan
	Hilary P. Clapp (ex officio)

1984—1986

Period	Representative
Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986	Victor S. Dominguez

See also

• Legislative district of Benguet
  • Legislative district of Baguio City
• Legislative district of Ifugao
• Legislative district of Kalinga-Apayao
  • Legislative district of Apayao
  • Legislative district of Kalinga

References

1. Cain, Andrew W. (1917). Philippine Government. Philippine Education Company, Inc. p. 57.
2. Cain, Andrew W. (1917). Philippine Government. Philippine Education Company, Inc. p. 157.
3. "An Act Creating the Municipal District of Potia in the Mountain Province". LawPH.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.

• Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library