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 1917 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
Map
Location of Abra within the Philippines
Province	Abra
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Population	250,985 (2020)[1]
Electorate	182,696 (2022)[2]
Area	4,165.25 km2 (1,608.21 sq mi)
Current constituency
Created	1917 (single-member district)
Representative	Menchie Bernos
Political party	Lakas–CMD
Congressional bloc	Majority

The district is currently represented in the 19th Congress by Menchie Bernos of the Lakas–CMD.^[5]

Representation history

#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A						Seat B
	Start	End			Image		Member	Party	Electoral history		Image		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			Image		Member	Party	Electoral history
Abra's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands
District re-created March 9, 1917.[7]
1	March 9, 1917	June 6, 1922	4th				Eustaquio Purugganan	Nacionalista	Redistricted from Ilocos Sur's 3rd district.
			5th						Re-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			Image		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 in 1936 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			Image		Member	Party	Electoral history		Image		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 P. Paredes Jr.	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			Image		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			Image		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			Image		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			Image		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	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	Elected in 2007.
14	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	15th				Joy Bernos	PDSP	Elected in 2010.
			16th					Liberal	Re-elected in 2013.
15	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022	17th				Joseph Bernos	PDP–Laban	Elected in 2016.
			18th					Nacionalista	Re-elected in 2019.
16	June 30, 2022	Incumbent	19th				Ching Bernos	Nacionalista (Asenso Abrenio)	Elected in 2022.
								Lakas (Asenso Abrenio)

Election results

2022

2022 Philippine House of Representatives election in Abra's at-large congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nacionalista	Menchie Bernos	122,223	100.00
Total votes			122,223	100%
	Nacionalista hold

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	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

1936 special

1936 National Assembly special election in Abra's at-large district

Candidate		Votes	%
Agapito Garduque		3,320	47.19
Jesus Paredes		2,525	35.89
Adolfo Brillantes		1,190	16.92
Total votes		7,035	100.00

See also

• Legislative district of Abra