Legislative districts of Dinagat Islands

The legislative districts of Dinagat Islands are the representations of the province of Dinagat Islands in the Congress of the Philippines. The province is currently represented in the lower house of the Congress through its lone congressional district.

History

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Prior to gaining separate representation, areas now under the jurisdiction of Dinagat Islands were initially represented under the former province of Surigao (1907–1961), Region X (1978–1984) and Surigao del Norte (1961–1972; 1984–2007).

The passage of Republic Act No. 9355 on October 2, 2006 and its subsequent ratification by plebiscite three months later separated seven municipalities from Surigao del Norte's first congressional district to form the new province of Dinagat Islands.[1] The new province first elected its separate representative in the 2007 elections.

Despite Dinagat Islands being nullified as a province by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on February 11, 2010[2] 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 Dinagat Islands' congressional representative along with its provincial officials.[3] Even after the Supreme Court rendered its original decision final and executory on May 18, 2010, the representatives of the reconfigured first district of Surigao del Norte and the lone district of Dinagat Islands continued to represent their own constituencies.[4]

After the Supreme Court reversed its previous ruling on April 12, 2011,[4] and subsequently upheld with finality the constitutionality of R.A. 9355 and the creation of Dinagat Islands as a province through an Entry of Judgment on October 24, 2012,[5] the separation of Dinagat Islands from Surigao del Norte's first district became permanent.

Lone District

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  • Population (2015): 127,152[6]
Period Representative[7]
14th Congress
2007–2010
Glenda B. Ecleo
15th Congress
2010–2013
Ruben B. Ecleo, Jr.[a]
vacant[b]
16th Congress
2013–2016
Arlene J. Bag-ao
17th Congress
2016–2019
18th Congress
2019–2022
Alan Uno B. Ecleo
19th Congress
2022–2025

Notes

  1. ^ Name deleted from House of Representatives list of members on May 22, 2012 over conviction of parricide;[8] seat remained officially vacant until the end of the 15th Congress.
  2. ^ Arlene "Kaka" Bag-ao was appointed congressional caretaker for the district in October 2012 while concurrently serving as Akbayan party-list representative until the end of the 15th Congress.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Congress of the Philippines (October 2, 2006). "Republic Act No. 9355 - An Act Creating the Province of Dinagat Islands" (PDF). Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  2. ^ Rempillo, Jay B. (February 11, 2010). "SC Voids Creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Commission on Elections (March 9, 2010). "COMELEC Resolution No. 8790" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Nachura, Antonio Eduardo B. (April 12, 2011). "G.R. No. 180050, Promulgated: April 12, 2011". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  5. ^ Department of Budget and Management (January 9, 2013). "IRA Shares for LGUs Jump by 37.5% in 2013". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "Population of Population of Legislative Districts by Region, Province, and Selected Highly Urbanized/Component City: 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Congressional Library Bureau. "Roster of Philippine Legislators". Republic of the Philippines, House of Representatives. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Medina, Andrei (June 1, 2012). "Dinagat Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. removed from Congress". GMA News Online. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  9. ^ Casauay, Angela (January 4, 2013). "Party-list rep as district caretaker a first". Rappler. Retrieved February 3, 2017.