South Cotabato's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that previously encompassed the Sarangani Bay region, a former territory of South Cotabato. It was represented in the House of Representatives from its creation under the ordinance annex of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines that divided the province into three congressional districts, until 1995.[1][2] The district was dissolved following the ratification of Sarangani's organic law of March 1992 which elected its own provincial at-large representative beginning in May 1995.[3]
The district was recreated March 11, 2019 from South Cotabato's 1st district, with General Santos being the sole component under Republic Act No. 11243.[4] The title of the act mentions creating "the Lone Legislative District of General Santos City," but its Section 1, paragraph (C) shows that General Santos was South Cotabato's 3rd district.[5] As it was too late in the preparation for the May 2019 elections, elections were postponed to October 2019.[6] As the ballots, which showed the old configuration with General Santos as part of the first district, also had ballot questions for other positions, voting went through, and voters freely voted on the 1st district race. Days before the rescheduled election, the Supreme Court declared the postponement as unconstitutional, and declared the candidate with the most votes in May 2019 as the winner, with the 3rd district as General Santos scheduled to be first contested in 2022.[7]
However, the South Cotabato's districts were redistricted in 2022 through a law that reapportioned South Cotabato's districts into three and made General Santos officially a single, distinct legislative district. This time, it will encompass the western municipalities of Lake Sebu, Norala, Santo Niño, Surallah, and T'boli. The district will be contested again in May 2025.[8]
Representation history
edit| # | Member | Term of office | Congress | Party | Electoral history | Constituent LGUs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | |||||||
South Cotabato's 3rd district for the House of Representatives of the Philippinesedit | ||||||||
| District created February 2, 1987, from South Cotabato's at-large district.[2] | ||||||||
| 1 | James L. Chiongbian | June 30, 1987 | June 30, 1995 | 8th | Lakas ng Bansa | Elected in 1987. | 1987–1995 Alabel, Glan, Kiamba, Maasim, Maitum, Malapatan, Malungon | |
| 9th | Lakas | Re-elected in 1992. Redistricted to Sarangani's at-large district. | ||||||
| District dissolved into Sarangani's at-large district.[3] | ||||||||
| District recreated on March 11, 2019 from South Cotabato's 1st district.[4] | ||||||||
| Redistricted on June 2, 2022, from South Cotabato's 2nd district.[8] | ||||||||
| 2 | To be chosen | June 30, 2025 | 20th | TBD | To be elected in 2025. | 2025–future Lake Sebu, Norala, Santo Niño, Surallah, T'boli | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Roster of Philippine legislators". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Republic Act No. 7228 (March 16, 1992), An Act Creating the Province of Sarangani, Official Gazette (Philippines), retrieved March 2, 2021
- ^ a b "Duterte signs law making GenSan separate district". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ "AN ACT REAPPORTIONING THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT OF THE PROVINCE OF SOUTH COTABATO THEREBY CREATING THE LONE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY". Supreme Court of the Philippines. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ Jaymalin, Mayen. "S. Leyte, S. Cotabato special polls set". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ "Bañas-Nograles proclaimed congresswoman of 1st district of South Cotabato". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ a b Republic Act No. 11804 (June 2, 2022), An Act Reapportioning the Province of South Cotabato Into Three (3) Legislative Districts, and Separating the City of General Santos From the Third Legislative District of the Province of South Cotabato to Constitute the Lone Legislative District of the City of General Santos, Repealing for the Purpose Republic Act No. 11243, Entitled "An Act Reapportioning the First Legislative District of the Province of South Cotabato Thereby Creating the Lone Legislative District of General Santos City" (PDF), Official Gazette, retrieved July 27, 2024