Legislative district of Benguet

The Legislative District of Benguet is the current representation of the province of Benguet in the Philippine House of Representatives.

In 1916 the undivided Mountain Province (of which Benguet was a sub-province) was provided representation in the Philippine Legislature. Initially, their three delegates were appointed by the Governor-General. The residents of the Mountain Province only began electing representatives through popular vote in 1935 by virtue of Act No. 4203; this law also provided the territorial coverage for each of the three representative districts. The sub-province of Benguet was then represented as part of the Mountain Province's second district, which also included the independent city of Baguio.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the undivided Mountain Province sent two representatives to the National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic. Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945, the sub-province of Benguet continued to be represented as part of the second district of the Mountain Province. This lasted until 1969, following the enactment of Republic Act No. 4695 on June 18, 1966, which made Benguet a full-fledged province.

The new province of Benguet, along with the city of Baguio, together elected one representative from 1969 to 1972.

The province was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region I from 1978 to 1984. Benguet elected one representative to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984, separately from Baguio City.

Under the new Constitution which took effect on February 7, 1987 Benguet was once more grouped with Baguio. The latter, 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 itself comprised the second district. Both elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

Starting in 1995 the first district was re-designated as the "Legislative district of Baguio City", thereby making the second district Benguet's lone district.

Lone District

• Population (2010): 403,944

Period	Representative
Regular Batasang Pambansa 1984–1986	Samuel M. Dangwa
10th Congress 1995–1998	Ronald M. Cosalan
11th Congress 1998–2001
12th Congress 2001–2004	Samuel M. Dangwa
13th Congress 2004–2007
14th Congress 2007–2010
15th Congress 2010–2013	Ronald M. Cosalan
16th Congress 2013–2016

1969–1972

• City: Baguio City¹
• Province: Benguet

Period	Representative
7th Congress 1969–1972	Andres A. Cosalan

^1 Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since 1909 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1964. Only voted with Benguet for congressional representation.

1st District (defunct)

• City: Baguio City¹

Period	Representative
8th Congress 1987–1992	Honorato Y. Aquino
9th Congress 1992–1995	Bernardo M. Vergara

^1 Highly-urbanized city; Independent from the province and does not vote for provincial officials since September 1, 1909 by virtue of Act No. 1964.

2nd District (defunct)

• Municipalities: Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Itogon, Kabayan, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay

Period	Representative
8th Congress 1987–1992	Samuel M. Dangwa
9th Congress 1992–1995

See also

• Legislative district of Baguio City
• Legislative districts of Mountain Province

References

• Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library