The legislative districts of Surigao del Norte are the representations of the province of Surigao del Norte in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province is currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through its first and second congressional districts. The 1st legislative district comprises nine municipalities on the islands of Siargao and Bucas Grande (plus smaller islands); the 2nd legislative district comprises Surigao City and eleven other municipalities on the mainland of Mindanao.
Prior to gaining separate representation, areas now under the jurisdiction of Surigao del Norte were represented under the former province of Surigao (1907–1961).
The enactment of Republic Act No. 2786 on June 19, 1960, split the old Surigao province into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, and provided the new provinces separate representations in Congress.[1] The new province of Surigao del Norte first elected its own representative in the 1961 elections.
The passage of Republic Act No. 9355 and its subsequent ratification by plebiscite in December 2006 separated seven municipalities from Surigao del Norte's first congressional district to form the new province of Dinagat Islands, which began to elect its own representative in the 2007 elections.[3] Despite Dinagat Islands being nullified as a province by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on February 11, 2010[4] the decision was not yet rendered final and executory before the 10 May 2010 elections; therefore the Commission on Elections still organized separate elections for the Dinagat Islands' congressional representative and provincial officials.[5] The representatives of the reconfigured first district of Surigao del Norte and the lone district of Dinagat Islands continued to represent their respective constituencies even after the Supreme Court rendered its original decision final and executory on 18 May 2010.[6]
After the Supreme Court reversed its previous ruling on April 12, 2011,[6] and subsequently upheld with finality the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9355 and the creation of Dinagat Islands as a province through an Entry of Judgment on October 24, 2012,[7] the separation of Dinagat Islands from Surigao del Norte's first district became permanent.
^Department of Budget and Management (January 9, 2013). "IRA Shares for LGUs Jump by 37.5% in 2013". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
