The legislative districts of Dinagat Islands are the representations of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Dinagat Islands in the
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ...
. The province is currently represented in the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the Congress through its
lone congressional district.
History
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
Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...
(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. 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
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on J ...
on February 11, 2010
the decision was not yet rendered final and executory before the
May 10, 2010 elections; therefore the
Commission on Elections
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
still organized the elections for Dinagat Islands' congressional representative along with its provincial officials.
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.
After the Supreme Court reversed its previous ruling on April 12, 2011,
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,
the separation of Dinagat Islands from Surigao del Norte's first district became permanent.
Lone District
* Population (2015): 127,152
Notes
See also
*
Legislative district of Surigao
*
Legislative districts of Surigao del Norte
References
{{Philippine legislative districts
Dinagat Islands
Politics of Dinagat Islands