Zamboanga's at-large congressional district explained

Zamboanga'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 Zamboanga.

The Spanish colonial province of Zamboanga was represented in the Malolos Congress following its reorganization in 1898 for the National Assembly of the First Philippine Republic.^[1] Three representatives from Luzon were appointed by the assembly to represent the province, namely Felipe Buencamino and Lázaro Tañedo from Tarlac, and Tomás Mascardo from Pampanga.^[2] After the fall of the First Republic, the province was abolished with its territory reduced 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 Zamboanga 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, Zamboanga 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]

Zamboanga 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 two congresses of the Third Philippine Republic. It was last represented by Roseller T. Lim. After the 1952 partition of Zamboanga, the district was abolished and replaced by Zamboanga del Norte's and Zamboanga del Sur's at-large districts.^[4]

Representation history

	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B					Seat C
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Zamboanga's at-large district for the Malolos Congress
District created June 18, 1898.
–	September 15, 1898	March 23, 1901	1st			Felipe Buencamino	Independent	Appointed.			Tomás Mascardo	Independent	Appointed.			Lázaro Tañedo	Independent	Appointed.
	Term of office		National Assembly		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Zamboanga's at-large district for the National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines)
District re-created February 8, 1935.
1	September 16, 1935	December 30, 1941	1st			Juan S. Alano	Nacionalista Democrático	Elected in 1935.
			2nd				Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1938.
	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B				Seats restored
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Zamboanga's at-large district for the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic)
District re-created September 7, 1943.^[8]
–	September 25, 1943	February 2, 1944	1st			Juan S. Alano	KALIBAPI	Elected in 1943.			Agustín L. Álvarez	KALIBAPI	Appointed as an ex officio member.
	Term of office		Common wealth Congress		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Zamboanga's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
District re-created May 24, 1945.
2	June 9, 1945	May 25, 1946	1st			Matias Ranillo Sr.	Nacionalista	Elected in 1941.
	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Zamboanga's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
(1)	May 25, 1946	December 30, 1949	1st			Juan S. Alano	Liberal	Elected in 1946.
3	December 30, 1949	December 30, 1953	2nd			Roseller T. Lim	Nacionalista	Elected in 1949. Redistricted to Zamboanga del Sur's at-large district.
District dissolved into Zamboanga del Norte's and Zamboanga del Sur's at-large districts.

See also

• Legislative districts of Zamboanga del Norte
• Legislative districts of Zamboanga del Sur

Notes and References

1. Web site: Decree of June 18, 1898, establishing the Dictatorial Government . . February 18, 2021.
2. Web site: The Malolos Congress: A Centennial publication on the inauguration of the Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899 - January 3, 1999) . . 1999 . February 18, 2021.
3. Act. 787. June 1, 1903. An Act Providing for the Organization and Government of the Moro Province . February 18, 2021.
4. Web site: Roster of Philippine legislators . . February 18, 2021.
5. Act. 2408. July 23, 1914. n act providing a temporary form of government for the territory known as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, making applicable thereto, with certain exceptions, the provisions of general laws now in force in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes. Lawyerly . February 18, 2021.
6. Act. 4125. May 26, 1934. An Act to Provide for the Election and Holding of the Constitutional Convention Authorized by the Act of the Congress of the United States of March Twenty-fourth, Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-four, Appropriate Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes . February 18, 2021.
7. Web site: The 1935 Constitution . . February 18, 2021.
8. Web site: The 1943 Constitution . . February 18, 2021.