The legislative district of Lanao was the representation of the historical province of Lanao in the various national legislatures of the Philippines until 1969. Marawi (formerly Dansalan) and Iligan also remained part of the province's representation even after becoming chartered cities in 1940 and 1950, respectively.
These arrangements remained in place despite the abolition of the Department in 1920. It lasted until 1935, when each of the seven provinces was provided a single representative to the National Assembly of the Philippines, albeit the manner of election varying between provinces. Voters of the more Christianized provinces of Agusan, Bukidnon, Davao and Zamboanga could elect their representative through popular vote by virtue of Article VI, Section 1 of the 1935 Constitution.[2] In the Muslim-dominated provinces of Cotabato, Lanao and Sulu, however, voter qualifications were more restrictive: the only persons allowed to vote for the province's representative were past and present municipal officials (municipal president, vice-president, municipal councilors); present senators, assembly representatives and 1935 Constitutional Convention delegates; provincial governors and members of provincial boards; and any persons currently residing in the concerned province who held any of the aforementioned positions in the past.[3] This was the manner by which Lanao's representative was elected in 1935.
The 1st National Assembly of the Philippines passed Commonwealth Act No. 44 on 13 October 1936 to finally give all qualified voters of Lanao (along with Cotabato and Sulu) the right to elect their own representatives through popular vote.[4] Voters in Lanao Province began to elect their representatives in this manner beginning in 1938. Even after Dansalan became a chartered city in 1940 by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 592, it remained part of the province's representation.[5]
Upon the restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1945 Lanao Province and Dansalan City (later renamed Marawi in 1956[7]) retained their combined pre-war lone congressional district. After receiving its own city charter by virtue of Republic Act No. 525 on 16 June 1950, Iligan also remained part of the representation of the Province of Lanao.[8]
The enactment of Republic Act No. 2228 on 22 May 1959 divided the old Lanao Province into Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, and provided them each with a congressional representative.[9] In accordance with Section 8 of R.A. 2228, the incumbent representative of Lanao Province, Laurentino Badelles, continued to represent both successor provinces until the next election in 1961.[9]
Lone District (defunct)
includes Dansalan (Marawi) (chartered in 1940) and Iligan (chartered in 1950)
^ abPhilippine Legislature (1917). Revised Administrative Code of the Philippine Islands of 1917 (Act No. 2711)(Digitized Revised Administrative Code of the Philippine Islands of 1917 from the Presidential Museum and Library Collection, uploaded on 15 February 2016). Bureau of Printing. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
^Commonwealth of the Philippines (8 February 1935). "The 1935 Constitution". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
^ abcdCongressional Library Bureau. "Roster of Philippine Legislators". Republic of the Philippines, House of Representatives. Retrieved 18 February 2017.