The legislative districts of Iloilo City are the representations of the highly urbanized city of

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

in the various national legislatures of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The city is currently represented in the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate of the Philippines, Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives ...

through its lone congressional district.

History

The territory of what is now Iloilo City initially formed part of the second district of

Iloilo province Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regio ...

in 1907. At the time of the passage of the Election Law (Act No. 1582) for the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

on January 9, 1907, Arevalo was a separate municipality, while the municipality of Iloilo was, by virtue of Act No. 719 of April 3, 1903, composed of the territories of the Spanish-era ''pueblos'' of

, Jaro,

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

Mandurriao Mandurriao () is a Districts of Iloilo City, district in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the second-largest district by geographical area as well as the third-most populous district, with 62,240 people in the 2020 census. Mandurriao is one of t ...

and Molo. Jaro once again became a separate municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 64 issued on December 24, 1907, while La Paz was re-established in 1920 by virtue of Executive Order No. 70 signed on October 11, 1919. When seats for the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

were elected from territory-based districts between 1916 and 1935, the then-municipalities of Arevalo, Iloilo (also encompassing Mandurriao and Molo), Jaro and La Paz — along with the rest of

— formed part of the seventh senatorial district which elected two out of the 24-member senate. When the City of Iloilo was created in 1936 by merging the municipalities of Arevalo, Iloilo and La Paz, the new city remained within the second district of Iloilo province. Jaro, also part of the second district, was annexed to the city later in 1940. In the disruption caused by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, two delegates represented the chartered city ( separately from the province) in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of the Japanese-sponsored

Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic, officially the Republic of the Philippines and also known as the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic, was a Japanese-Axis powers, backed government established on October 14, 1943, during the Japanese occupatio ...

: 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 The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

. Upon the restoration of the

Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government of the Phi ...

in 1945, the city's representation reverted to the second district of Iloilo province, of which it remained a part until 1972. Iloilo City was represented in the

Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa ( English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978, to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1 ...

as part of Region VI from 1978 to 1984. The city, along with the rest of the province of Iloilo, elected five representatives, at large, to the

Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English language, English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa (legislature), Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 ...

in the 1984 elections. Iloilo City was provided its own

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987. The new lone district elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.

Current districts

References

{{Philippine legislative districts

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

Politics of Iloilo City

History

Current districts

See also

References