The House of Representatives will be bigger by a few more seats in 2022.

Due to multiple redistricting laws, there will be 10 new congressional posts, so far, up for grabs in the May 9, 2022, elections.

Six of these districts were created during the current 18th Congress. The other four were created in 2019, but their seats will be filled for the first time in 2022.

Here is a list of these new districts. The most recent reapportionments are listed first.

Bataan – 1 new district

On June 24, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11553, regrouping Bataan’s towns and sole city into three legislative districts. This increased the province’s House membership by one.

The redistricting resulted in the following:

• First district – Abucay, Hermosa, Orani, and Samal
• Second district – Balanga City, Limay, Orion, and Pilar
• Third district – Bagac, Dinalupihan, Mariveles, and Morong

Bulacan – 2 new districts

Republic Act 11546, signed in May 2021, reapportioned Bulacan’s four congressional districts into six.

The new groupings of the Bulacan cities and towns are:

• First district – Malolos City, Bulacan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, and Pulilan
• Second district – Baliuag, Bustos, and Plaridel
• Third district – Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, and San Rafael
• Fourth district – Meycauayan City, Marilao, and Obando
• Fifth district – Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, and Pandi
• Sixth district – Angat, Norzagaray, and Santa Maria

San Jose del Monte City is unaffected and will continue to have its own district.

Caloocan City – 1 new district

The first district of Caloocan City was split into two after RA 11545 was signed in May 2021. The new district will be known as Caloocan’s third district.

Barangays 1 to 4, 77 to 85, and 132 to 177 will remain in the first district, while Barangays 178 to 188 will comprise the new third district.

Rizal – 2 new districts

Rizal’s second legislative district was split into three via RA 11533, signed in March 2021.

The towns of San Mateo and Rodriguez will have their own district, to be known as the new third and fourth districts, respectively. The rest of the towns – Baras, Cardona, Jala-jala, Morong, Pililla, Tanay, and Teresa – will stay in the second district.

Santa Rosa City, Laguna – new district

The city of Santa Rosa was carved out of Laguna’s first district via RA 11395 in August 2019. As a result, San Pedro City will become the sole component of the new first district.

Because RA 11395 was enacted after the 2019 elections, the district will have its first representative in the next local elections in 2022.

Mandaue City, Cebu – new district

Mandaue City was split from Cebu’s sixth district by virtue of RA 11257 signed in April 2019. This will leave Consolacion and Cordova in the revised sixth district.

The law was enacted too close to the 2019 elections, thus its first representative will be elected in the next polls in 2022.

General Santos City, South Cotabato – new district

General Santos City got its own congressional district via RA 11243, which carved the city out of the first district of South Cotabato. The law was approved in March 2019.

The updated first district is composed of Polomolok, Tampakan, and Tupi towns.

Because the redistricting happened months before the May 2019 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) initially held off the election for the province’s first district representative. (Since the ballots have already been printed, voters were still able to cast their votes for the position.) The poll body then scheduled a special election for October 2019 to fill up the seats for the reapportioned districts. 

However, the special polls were cancelled after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shirlyn Bañas Nograles, who received the most number of votes cast in May to represent the first district in the House. Nograles successfully argued that General Santos City remained part of the first district until the next national polls in 2022.

Southern Leyte – 1 new district

Southern Leyte was split into two in February 2019 by virtue of RA 11198, months before the polls that same year. The composition of the new districts are:

• First district – Maasin City, Bontoc, Limasawa, Macrohon, Malitbog, Padre Burgos, and Tomas Oppus
• Second district – Anahawan, Hinunangan, Hinundayan, Libagon, Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco, San Juan, San Ricardo, Saint Bernard, Silago, and Sogod

At first, Comelec also suspended the election of representative of the lone district of Southern Leyte, originally set in the May 2019 polls, until the special election scheduled for October that same year for the two new districts. (Like in South Cotabato, voters were still able to cast their votes for the position in Southern Leyte, since the ballots have already been printed.)

However, due to the SC ruling on the General Santos City district, Comelec likewise cancelled the Southern Leyte special polls. The poll body later proclaimed Roger Mercado, who received the most votes cast in May, as representative of the lone district.

The election of representatives of the two districts will take place in 2022.

Total House members

These 10 new seats will raise the total number of district representatives in the House to 253.

As a result of district seats having a new total, the seats for party list representatives will also increase by two. This will bring the party list seats to 63, which is 20% of the total House composition, in line with the 1987 Constitution.

Will there be more?

As of writing, there are at least two redistricting House bills that are nearing approval.

The measures that seek to reapportion Iloilo City (into two districts) and Agusan del Norte (with Butuan City) have been sent to the Senate for their consideration. – Rappler.com