Legislative district of Baguio

The Legislative District of Baguio City is the representation of the highly urbanized city of Baguio in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The city is currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through its lone congressional district.

In 1916 the city of Baguio, along with the undivided Mountain Province, was provided representation in the Philippine Legislature. Initially, their three lower house delegates were appointed by the Governor-General. When seats for the upper house of the Philippine Legislature were divided between territory-based districts between 1916 and 1935, Baguio, along with the other then non-Christian-majority areas (Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, and the provinces within the Department of Mindanao and Sulu), formed the twelfth senatorial district, for which two senators were also appointed by the Governor-General.

The residents of Baguio and the Mountain Province only began electing representatives through popular vote in 1935 by virtue of Act No. 4203; the law provided the territorial coverage for each lower house representative district, while also abolishing the senatorial district system. The city was then represented as part of the Mountain Province's second district, which also included the sub-province of Benguet.

In the disruption caused by the Second World War, two delegates represented Baguio in the National Assembly of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic: one was the city mayor (an ex officio member), while the other was elected through an assembly of KALIBAPI members within the city during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the city resumed to be represented with the sub-province of Benguet as part of the undivided Mountain Province's second district. The enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966 converted Benguet into a regular province; for congressional representation, the province was grouped with city of Baguio, and elected one representative in 1969.

Baguio was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region I from 1978 to 1984. Classified as a highly urbanized city on December 22, 1979 through Batas Pambansa Blg. 51, Baguio was granted separate representation in the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984.

The city was one more grouped with Benguet under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987. Baguio, though an independent city since 1909, comprised what was legally known between 1987 and 1995 as the first district of Benguet, while the actual province of Benguet itself comprised the second district. Both elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

Starting in 1995 the first district of Benguet was re-designated as the "Legislative district of Baguio City" thereby permitting the city to once again elect a representative under its own name.

Lone District

• Population (2010): 318,676

Period	Representative
10th Congress 1995–1998	Bernardo M. Vergara
11th Congress 1998–2001
12th Congress 2001–2004	Mauricio G. Domogan
13th Congress 2004–2007
14th Congress 2007–2010
15th Congress 2010–2013	Bernardo M. Vergara
16th Congress 2013–2016	Nicasio M. Aliping, Jr.

At-Large (defunct)

Period	Representative
National Assembly 1943–1944	Florendo Aquino
	Nicasio S. Valderrosa (ex officio)
Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986	Honorato Y. Aquino

See also

• Legislative districts of Mountain Province
• Legislative districts of Benguet

References

• Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library