Abra's at-large congressional district

Abra's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Abra. Abra has been represented in the country's various national legislatures since 1898.[3] The first congressional delegation consisted of two members in the First Philippine Republic legislature known as the Malolos Congress. Since 1919 when it was re-established as a regular province separate from Ilocos Sur, Abra has been entitled to one member in the House of Representatives of the Philippines, elected provincewide at-large, except for a brief period between 1943 and 1944 when it was again represented by two members in the National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic.[4] From 1978 to 1984, all provinces were converted into multi-seat regional at-large districts for the Interim Batasang Pambansa of the Fourth Philippine Republic, with Abra forming part of the twelve-seat Region I's at-large district. It was restored as a single-member district in 1984.[4]

Abra's at-large congressional district
Constituency for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Location of Abra within the Philippines
Province	Abra
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Population	241,160 (2015)[1]
Electorate	156,968 (2016)[2]
Area	4,165.25 km^2 (1,608.21 sq mi)
Current constituency
Created	1919 (single-member district)
Representative	Joseph Sto. Niño B. Bernos
Political party	Nacionalista
Congressional bloc	Majority

The district is currently represented in the 18th Congress by Joseph Sto. Niño B. Bernos of the Nacionalista Party (NP).[5]

Representation history

#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the Malolos Congress
District created June 18, 1898.[6]
–	September 15, 1898	March 23, 1901	1st			Isidro Paredes	Independent	Elected in 1898.			Juan Villamor	Independent	Elected in 1898.
#	Term of office		Legislature		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands
District re-created March 9, 1917. Redistricted from Ilocos Sur's 3rd district.[7]
1	June 3, 1919	June 6, 1922	5th			Eustaquio Purugganan	Nacionalista	Elected in 1919.
2	June 6, 1922	June 2, 1925	6th			Adolfo Brillantes	Nacionalista Colectivista	Elected in 1922.
3	June 2, 1925	September 16, 1935	7th			Quintín Paredes	Nacionalista Consolidado	Elected in 1925.
			8th					Re-elected in 1928.
			9th					Re-elected in 1931.
			10th				Nacionalista Democrático	Re-elected in 1934.
#	Term of office		National Assembly		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines)
(3)	November 15, 1935	January 9, 1936	1st			Quintín Paredes	Nacionalista Democrático	Re-elected in 1935. Resigned on appointment as Resident Commissioner.
4	September 1, 1936	December 30, 1938				Agapito Garduque	Nacionalista	Elected to finish Paredes's term.
(3)	December 30, 1938	December 30, 1941	2nd			Quintín Paredes	Nacionalista	Elected in 1938.
#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic)
District re-created September 7, 1943.[8]
–	September 25, 1943	February 2, 1944	3rd			Quintín Paredes	KALIBAPI	Elected in 1943.			Juan C. Brillantes	KALIBAPI	Appointed as an ex officio member.
#	Term of office		Common wealth Congress		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
District re-created May 24, 1945.
5	June 9, 1945	May 25, 1946	1st			Jesús V. Paredes	Nacionalista	Elected in 1941.
#	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
(3)	May 25, 1946	December 30, 1949	1st			Quintín Paredes	Liberal	Elected in 1946.
6	December 30, 1949	December 30, 1953	2nd			Virgilio V. Valera	Liberal	Elected in 1949.
7	December 30, 1953	December 30, 1965	3rd			Lucas P. Paredes	Democratic	Elected in 1953.
			4th				Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1957.
			5th					Re-elected in 1961.
8	December 30, 1965	September 23, 1972	6th			Carmelo Z. Barbero	Liberal	Elected in 1965.
			7th					Re-elected in 1969. Removed from office after imposition of martial law.
District dissolved into the twelve-seat Region I's at-large district for the Interim Batasang Pambansa.
#	Term of office		Batasang Pambansa		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the Regular Batasang Pambansa
District re-created February 1, 1984.[9]
–	July 23, 1984	March 25, 1986	2nd			Arturo V. Barbero	KBL	Elected in 1984.
#	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
District re-created February 2, 1987.
9	June 30, 1987	June 30, 1992	8th			Rudolfo A. Bernardez	LABAN	Elected in 1987.
10	June 30, 1992	June 30, 1998	9th			Jeremias Z. Zapata	Lakas–CMD	Elected in 1992.
			10th					Re-elected in 1995.
11	June 30, 1998	June 30, 2001	11th			Vicente Ysidro P. Valera	LDP	Elected in 1998.
12	June 30, 2001	December 16, 2006	12th			Luis P. Bersamin Jr.	PDSP	Elected in 2001.
			13th				KAMPI	Re-elected in 2004. Died.
13	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2010	14th			Cecilia Seares-Luna	Lakas–CMD	Elected in 2007.
14	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	15th			Maria Jocelyn Bernos	Liberal	Elected in 2010.
			16th					Re-elected in 2013.
15	June 30, 2016	Incumbent	17th			Joseph Sto. Niño B. Bernos	PDP–Laban	Elected in 2016.
			18th				Nacionalista	Re-elected in 2019.

Election results

2016

2016 Philippine House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Joseph Bernos	63,919
	Nacionalista	Marco Bautista	53,814
	Independent	Joselito Bringas	7,460
	Lakas	Cecilia Luna	3,424
Invalid or blank votes			11,307
Total votes			139,924
	Liberal hold

2013

2013 Philippine House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ma. Jocelyn Valera-Bernos	55,323	64.79%
	Nacionalista	Rolando Somera	19,116	22.39%
	Independent	Hans Roger Luna	10,952	12.83%
Margin of victory
Rejected ballots
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

2010

2010 Philippine House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PDSP	Joy Bernos-Valera	46,536	40.85
	Lakas–Kampi	Cecilia Seares-Luna	45,454	39.90
	Nacionalista	Ma. Zita Valera	11,249	9.87
	PMP	Mailed Molina	10,677	9.37
Valid ballots			113,916	95.21
Invalid or blank votes			5,735	4.79
Total votes			119,651	100.00
	PDSP gain from Lakas–Kampi

See also

• Legislative district of Abra

References

1. "TABLE 1. Population of legislative districts by Region, Province, and selected Highly Urbanized/Component City : 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
2. "Philippines 2016 Voters Profile". Commission on Elections (Philippines). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
3. "The Malolos Congress: A Centennial publication on the inauguration of the Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899 - January 3, 1999)". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 1999. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
4. "Roster of Philippine legislators". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
5. "House Members". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
6. "The Malolos Congress: A Centennial publication on the inauguration of the Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899 - January 3, 1999)". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 1999. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
7. "Act No. 2683, (1917-03-09)". Lawyerly. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
8. "The 1943 Constitution". Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
9. "Proclamation No. 2332, s. 1984". Official Gazette (Philippines). Retrieved 16 May 2020.