Davao's at-large congressional district explained

Davao's at-large congressional district may refer to several occasions when a provincewide at-large district was used for elections to the various Philippine national legislatures from the undivided province of Davao.

The Spanish colonial district of Davao, formerly the province of Nueva Guipúzcoa, was represented in the Malolos Congress following its reorganization in 1898 for the National Assembly of the First Philippine Republic.^[1] Two representatives from Luzon were appointed by the assembly to represent the province, namely León María Guerrero from Manila and Ceferino Pantoja from Nueva Vizcaya.^[2] After the fall of the First Republic, the province was abolished with its territory reverted to a district annexed to Moro Province under U.S. civilian rule in 1903.^[3] Moro Province was unrepresented in the Philippine Assembly.^[4]

Provincial government was re-established in Davao in 1914 but was not entitled to its own representation in the national legislature.^[5] Instead, it remained a part of the larger constituency of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes whose representatives were appointed by the Governor General beginning in 1916. In 1934 following the passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act, Davao elected its own delegate for the first time to the 1934 Philippine Constitutional Convention which was charged with the drafting of a new constitution for the Commonwealth of the Philippines.^[6] The province then began to send a representative to the Commonwealth National Assembly from its single-member at-large district created under the 1935 constitution.^[7]

Davao was also represented in the Second Republic National Assembly during the Pacific War. It also elected a representative to the restored House of Representatives and to the first six congresses under the Third Philippine Republic. After the 1967 division of Davao, the district was abolished and replaced by Davao del Norte's, Davao del Sur's and Davao Oriental's at-large districts.^{[4] [8]}

Representation history

	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Davao's at-large district for the Malolos Congress
District created June 18, 1898.
–	September 15, 1898	March 23, 1901	1st			León María Guerrero	Independent	Appointed.			Ceferino Pantoja	Independent	Appointed.
	Term of office		National Assembly		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Davao's at-large district for the National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines)
District re-created February 8, 1935.
1	September 16, 1935	December 30, 1938	1st			Romualdo C. Quimpo	Nacionalista Democrático	Elected in 1935.
2	December 30, 1938	December 30, 1941	2nd			César M. Sotto	Nacionalista	Elected in 1938.
	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Davao's at-large district for the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic)
District re-created September 7, 1943.^[9]
–	September 25, 1943	February 2, 1944	1st			Juan A. Sarenas	KALIBAPI	Elected in 1943.			Romualdo C. Quimpo	KALIBAPI	Appointed as an ex officio member.
	Term of office		Common wealth Congress		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Davao's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
District re-created May 24, 1945.
3	June 9, 1945	May 25, 1946	1st			Juan A. Sarenas	Nacionalista	Elected in 1941.
	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Davao's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
4	May 25, 1946	December 30, 1949	1st			Apolinario Cabigon	Nacionalista	Elected in 1946.
5	December 30, 1949	December 30, 1957	2nd			Ismael L. Veloso	Nacionalista	Elected in 1949.
			3rd					Re-elected in 1953.
6	December 30, 1957	December 30, 1961	4th			Gavino R. Sepulveda	Liberal	Elected in 1957.
(5)	December 30, 1961	December 30, 1965	5th			Ismael L. Veloso	Nacionalista	Elected in 1961.
7	December 30, 1965	January 22, 1968	6th			Lorenzo S. Sarmiento	Liberal	Elected in 1965. Redistricted to Davao del Norte's at-large district.
District dissolved into Davao del Norte's, Davao del Sur's and Davao Oriental's at-large districts.

See also

• Legislative districts of Davao del Norte
• Legislative districts of Davao del Sur
• Legislative districts of Davao Oriental

Notes and References

1. Web site: Decree of June 18, 1898, establishing the Dictatorial Government . . February 23, 2021 . June 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210610222423/https://officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/1898/06jun/18980618-English-Aguinaldo-Establishing-Dictatorial-Government.pdf . dead .
2. Web site: The Malolos Congress: A Centennial publication on the inauguration of the Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899 - January 3, 1999) . . 1999 . February 23, 2021.
3. Web site: Act No. 787, (1903-06-01) . Lawyerly . February 23, 2021.
4. Web site: Roster of Philippine legislators . . February 23, 2021 . March 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170316064243/http://congress.gov.ph/legislators/?v=province . dead .
5. Web site: Act No. 2408, (1914-07-23) . Lawyerly . February 23, 2021.
6. Web site: Act No. 4125, (1934-05-26) . Lawyerly . February 23, 2021.
7. Web site: The 1935 Constitution . . February 23, 2021 . June 25, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170625234400/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1935-constitution/ . dead .
8. Web site: Republic Act No. 4867, (1967-05-08) . Lawyerly . February 23, 2021.
9. Web site: The 1943 Constitution . . February 23, 2021 . June 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200602190153/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1943-constitution/ . dead .