Batanes's at-large congressional district

Batanes's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Batanes. Batanes 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.

Batanes's at-large congressional district
Constituency for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Location of Batanes within the Philippines
Province	Batanes
Region	Cagayan Valley
Population	18,831 (2020)[1]
Electorate	13,820 (2022)[2]
Area	219.01 km2 (84.56 sq mi)
Current constituency
Created	1909 (single-member district)
Representative	Ciriaco B. Gato Jr.
Political party	NPC
Congressional bloc	Majority

Since 1909 when it was re-established as a regular province separate from Cagayan, Batanes 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 eliminated and absorbed by Cagayan's at-large representation for 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 Batanes forming part of the seven-seat Region II's at-large district. It was restored as a single-member district in 1984.^[4]

The district is currently represented in the 19th Congress by Ciriaco B. Gato Jr. of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC).^[5]

Representation history

#	Term of office		National Assembly		Seat A					Seat B
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history		Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the Malolos Congress
District created June 18, 1898.[6]
–	September 15, 1898	March 23, 1901	1st			Daniel Tirona	Independent	Elected in 1898.			Vito Belarmino	Independent	Appointed.
#	Term of office		Legislature		Single seat				Seats eliminated
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the Philippine Assembly
District re-created May 20, 1909 from Cagayan's 1st district.[7]
1	October 16, 1909	July 22, 1910	2nd			Teófilo Castillejos	Nacionalista	Elected in 1909. Died.
2	September 5, 1911	October 16, 1916				Vicente Barsana	Progresista	Elected in 1911 to finish Castillejos's term.
			3rd					Re-elected in 1912.
Batanes's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands
3	October 16, 1916	June 3, 1919	4th			Juan C. Castillejos	Nacionalista	Elected in 1916.
4	June 3, 1919	June 2, 1925	5th			Claudio Castillejos	Nacionalista	Elected in 1919.
			6th				Nacionalista Unipersonalista	Re-elected in 1922.
5	June 2, 1925	June 5, 1928	7th			Vicente Agan	Nacionalista Consolidado	Elected in 1925.
6	June 5, 1928	June 5, 1934	8th			Mariano Lizardo	Nacionalista Consolidado	Elected in 1928.
			9th					Re-elected in 1931.
(5)	June 5, 1934	September 16, 1935	10th			Vicente Agan	Nacionalista Democrático	Elected in 1934.
#	Term of office		National Assembly		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines)
(5)	September 16, 1935	December 30, 1941	1st			Vicente Agan	Nacionalista Democrático	Re-elected in 1935.
			2nd				Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1938.
District dissolved into the two-seat Cagayan's at-large district for the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic).
#	Term of office		Common wealth Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
District re-created May 24, 1945.
(5)	–	–	1st			Vicente Agan	Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1941. Died before start of term.
—	June 11, 1945	May 25, 1946				vacant	–	No special election held to fill vacancy.
#	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
7	May 25, 1946	December 30, 1949	1st			Anastacio Agan	Nacionalista	Elected in 1946.
8	December 30, 1949	December 30, 1957	2nd			Jorge A. Abad	Independent	Elected in 1949.
			3rd				Liberal	Re-elected in 1953.
9	December 30, 1957	December 30, 1961	4th			Manuel Agudo	Nacionalista	Elected in 1957.
(8)	December 30, 1961	June 22, 1964	5th			Jorge A. Abad	Liberal	Elected in 1961. Resigned on appointment as Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications.
–	June 22, 1964	December 30, 1965				vacant	–	No special election held to fill vacancy.
10	December 30, 1965	December 30, 1969	6th			Aurora B. Abad	Liberal	Elected in 1965.
11	December 30, 1969	April 17, 1970	7th			Rufino S. Antonio Jr.	Independent	Elected in 1969. Election annulled by the Supreme Court after an electoral protest.[8]
(8)	April 17, 1970	September 23, 1972				Jorge A. Abad	Liberal	Declared winner of the 1969 elections. Removed from office after imposition of martial law.
District dissolved into the seven-seat Region II's at-large district for the Interim Batasang Pambansa.
#	Term of office		Batasang Pambansa		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the Regular Batasang Pambansa
District re-created February 1, 1984.[9]
–	July 23, 1984	March 25, 1986	2nd			Fernando C. Faberes	KBL	Elected in 1984.
#	Term of office		Congress		Single seat
	Start	End			Member		Party	Electoral history
Batanes's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines
District re-created February 2, 1987.
12	June 30, 1987	December 31, 1989	8th			Florencio Abad	Liberal	Elected in 1987. Resigned on appointment as Secretary of Agrarian Reform.
–	December 31, 1989	June 30, 1992				vacant	–	No special election held to fill vacancy.
13	June 30, 1992	June 30, 1995	9th			Enrique C. Lizardo	Lakas	Elected in 1992.
(12)	June 30, 1995	June 30, 2004	10th			Florencio Abad	Liberal	Elected in 1995.
			11th					Re-elected in 1998.
			12th					Re-elected in 2001.
14	June 30, 2004	June 30, 2007	13th			Henedina Abad	Liberal	Elected in 2004.
15	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2010	14th			Carlo Oliver Diasnes	KAMPI	Elected in 2007.
							Lakas
(14)	June 30, 2010	October 8, 2017	15th			Henedina Abad	Liberal	Elected in 2010.
			16th					Re-elected in 2013.
			17th					Re-elected in 2016. Died in office.
–	October 8, 2017	June 30, 2019				vacant	–	No special election held to fill vacancy.
16	June 30, 2019	Incumbent	18th			Ciriaco B. Gato Jr.	NPC	Elected in 2019.
			19th					Re-elected in 2022.

Election results

2025

2025 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PFP	Marilou Cayco
	NPC	Ciriaco Gato Jr.
Valid ballots
Invalid or blank votes
Total votes

2022

2022 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NPC	Ciriaco Gato Jr.	3,872	33.92
	Liberal	Luis Andres Abad	3,037	26.61
	PDR	Roland Aguto Jr.	2,484	21.76
	Lakas	Carlo Oliver Diasnes	2,022	17.71
Valid ballots			11,415	82.60
Invalid or blank votes			2,405	17.40
Total votes			13,820	100.00
	NPC hold

2019

2019 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NPC	Ciriaco Gato Jr.	3,367	35.34
	Liberal	Florencio Abad	3,129	32.84
	NUP	Carlo Oliver Diasnes	3,032	31.82
Valid ballots			9,528	78.07
Invalid or blank votes			2,676	21.93
Total votes			12,204	100.00
	NPC gain from Liberal

2016

2016 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Henedina Abad	4,236	46.93
	NPC	Efren Lizardo	1,795	19.88
	Independent	Alexius Narag	1,517	16.81
	UNA	Nicanor Abad	1,479	16.38
Valid ballots			9,027	82.02
Invalid or blank votes			1,979	17.98
Total votes			11,006	100.00
	Liberal hold

2013

2013 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Henedina Abad	3,813	45.74
	Independent	Carlo Oliver Diasnes	3,676	44.10
	UNA	Anacleto Mendoza	847	10.16
Valid ballots			8,336	79.54
Invalid or blank votes			2,144	20.46
Total votes			10,480	100.00
	Liberal hold

2010

2010 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Henedina Abad	3,076	37.07
	Lakas–Kampi	Carlo Oliver Diasnes	2,988	36.01
	Independent	Alexius Narag	2,234	26.92
Valid ballots			8,298	81.00
Invalid or blank votes			1,947	19.00
Total votes			10,245	100.00
	Liberal gain from Lakas–Kampi

2007

2007 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	KAMPI	Carlo Oliver Diasnes	4,430	55.36
	Liberal	Vicente Gato	3,454	43.16
	PMP	Pedro Horcajo	118	1.47
Valid ballots			8,002	85.63
Invalid or blank votes			1,343	14.37
Total votes			9,345	100.00
	KAMPI gain from Liberal

2004

2004 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Henedina Abad	4,051	52.39
	Lakas–CMD	Telesforo Castillejos	3,577	46.26
	Independent	Nicanor Abad	77	1.00
	Independent	Florencita Nicolas	27	0.35
Valid ballots			7,732	87.15
Invalid or blank votes			1,140	12.85
Total votes			8,872	100.00
	Liberal hold

2001

2001 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Florencio Abad	4,835	74.34
	Lakas–NUCD–UMDP	Priscilla Yadan	1,669	25.66
Valid ballots			6,504	78.94
Invalid or blank votes			1,735	21.06
Total votes			8,239	100.00
	Liberal hold

1998

1998 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Florencio Abad	4,360	65.44
	Lakas–NUCD–UMDP	Telesforo Castillejos	2,303	34.56
Valid ballots			6,663	90.67
Invalid or blank votes			686	9.33
Total votes			7,349	100.00
	Liberal hold

1995

1995 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Florencio Abad	3,354	53.32
	Lakas–NUCD–UMDP	Enrique Lizardo	2,936	46.68
Total votes			6,290	100.00
	Liberal gain from Lakas–NUCD–UMDP

1992

1992 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	LDP	Enrique Lizardo	3,358	58.87
	NPC	Fernando Faberes	1,453	25.47
	Liberal	Antonio Escalante	893	15.66
Total votes			5,704	100.00
	LDP gain from Liberal

1987

1987 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Florencio Abad	2,854	49.00
	Nacionalista	Fernando Faberes	1,984	34.06
	PDP–Laban	Constantino Agayan	987	16.94
Total votes			5,825	100.00
	Liberal win (new seat)

1984

1984 Philippine parliamentary elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	KBL	Fernando Faberes	2,589	46.94
	UNIDO	Priscilla Yadan	1,004	18.20
	Nacionalista	Silvino Agudo	942	17.08
	UNIDO	Cesar Hidalgo	786	14.25
	Independent	Constantino Agayan	152	2.76
	Independent	Marcial Armando	43	0.78
Total votes			5,516	100.00
	KBL win (new seat)

1969

1969 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Rufino Antonio Jr.	1,363	51.45
	Liberal	Jorge Abad	709	26.76
	Nacionalista	Renee Agudo	403	15.21
	Nacionalista	Custodio Villava	174	6.57
Total votes			2,649	100.00
	Independent gain from Liberal

1965

1965 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Aurora Abad	2,629	66.90
	Nacionalista	Manuel Agudo	1,301	33.10
Total votes			3,930	100.00
	Liberal hold

1961

1961 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Jorge Abad	1,216	31.97
	Nacionalista	Manuel Agudo	1,135	29.84
	Nacionalista	Custodio Villava	992	26.08
	Nacionalista	Marcos Malupa	460	12.10
Total votes			3,803	100.00
	Liberal gain from Nacionalista

1957

1957 Philippine House of Representatives elections for Batanes' lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nacionalista	Manuel Agudo	1,183	33.72
	Liberal	Jorge Abad	975	27.79
	Nacionalista	Custodio Villava	960	27.37
	Nacionalista	Salvador Reyes	390	11.12
Total votes			3,508	100.00
	Nacionalista gain from Liberal

1953

1949

See also

• Legislative districts of Batanes

References

1. Census of Population (2020). Table B - Population and Annual Growth Rates by Province, City, and Municipality - By Region. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
2. "Number and Turn-Out of Registered Voters and Voters Who Actually Voted by City/Municipality May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections". Commission on Elections. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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 8 May 2020.
4. "Roster of Philippine legislators". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
5. "House Members". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 8 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 May 8, 2020.
7. Act No. 1952 (May 20, 1909), An Act to Provide for the Establishment of the Province of Batanes; to Amend Paragraph Seven of Section Sixty-eight of Act Numbered Eleven Hundred and Eighty-nine in Certain Particulars; to Authorize the Provincial Board of the Province of Batanes, With the Approval of the Governor-General, to Extend the Time for the Payment Without Penalty of Taxes and Licenses; to Amend Section Five of Act Numbered Fifteen Hundred and Eighty-two, Entitled "the Election Law," by Increasing the Number of Delegates to the Philippine Assembly to Eighty-one, and for Other Purposes, retrieved June 30, 2023 – via Supreme Court E-Library
8. G.R. No. L-31604 (April 17, 1970), Rufino S. Antonio vs. COMELEC, retrieved November 17, 2024
9. Presidential Proclamation No. 2332 (February 1, 1984), Proclaiming the Ratification in the Plebiscite of January 27, 1984, of the Amendments to the Constitution Embodied in Batasang Pambansa Resolutions Nos. 104, 105, 110, 111, 112 and 113, Official Gazette (Philippines), retrieved June 30, 2023