Abra's at-large congressional district

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	188,957 (2025) [2]
Area	4,165.25 km2 (1,608.21 sq mi)
Current constituency
Created	1917 (single-member district)
Representative	Joseph Bernos
Political party	Lakas–CMD
Congressional bloc	Majority

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]

The district is currently represented in the 20th Congress by Joseph Bernos of the Lakas–CMD. ^[5]

Representation history

Malolos Congress (1898–1899)

Term	Legislature		Seat A						Seat B
			Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District created June 18, 1898. [6]
September 15, 1898 – March 23, 1901	Malolos Congress			Isidro Paredes		Nonpartisan	Elected in 1898.			Juan Villamor		Nonpartisan	Elected in 1898.

House of Representatives (1916–1935)

Term	Legislature		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District re-created March 9, 1917. [7]
March 9, 1917 – June 6, 1922	4th Legislature			Eustaquio Purugganan		Nacionalista	Redistricted from Ilocos Sur's 3rd district.
	5th Legislature						Re-elected in 1919.
June 6, 1922 – June 2, 1925	6th Legislature			Adolfo Brillantes		Nacionalista Colectivista	Elected in 1922.
June 2, 1925 – September 16, 1935	7th Legislature			Quintín Paredes (1884–1973)		Nacionalista Consolidado	Elected in 1925.
	8th Legislature						Re-elected in 1928.
	9th Legislature						Re-elected in 1931.
	10th Legislature					Nacionalista Democratico	Re-elected in 1934.

National Assembly (1935–1945)

Commonwealth

Term	Legislature		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
November 15, 1935 – January 9, 1936	1st National Assembly			Quintín Paredes (1884–1973)		Nacionalista Democratico	Re-elected in 1935. Resigned on appointment as Resident Commissioner.
January 9, 1936 – September 1, 1936			Vacant
September 1, 1936 – December 30, 1938				Agapito Garduque		Nacionalista	Elected in 1936 to finish Paredes's term.
December 30, 1938 – December 30, 1941	2nd National Assembly			Quintín Paredes (1884–1973)		Nacionalista	Elected in 1938.

Second Republic

Term	Legislature		Seat A						Seat B
			Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District re-created September 7, 1943. [8]
September 25, 1943 – February 2, 1944	National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic)			Quintín Paredes Jr.		KALIBAPI	Elected in 1943.			Juan Brillantes		KALIBAPI	Appointed as an ex officio member.

House of Representatives (1945–1972)

Term	Legislature		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District re-created May 24, 1945.
June 9, 1945 – May 25, 1946	1st Commonwealth Congress			Jesús Paredes		Nacionalista	Elected in 1941.
May 25, 1946 – December 30, 1949	2nd Commonwealth Congress			Quintín Paredes (1884–1973)		Liberal	Elected in 1946.
	1st Congress
December 30, 1949 – December 30, 1953	2nd Congress			Virgilio Valera		Liberal	Elected in 1949.
December 30, 1953 – December 30, 1965	3rd Congress			Lucas Paredes		Democratic	Elected in 1953.
	4th Congress					Nacionalista	Re-elected in 1957.
	5th Congress						Re-elected in 1961.
December 30, 1965 – September 23, 1972	6th Congress			Carmelo Barbero		Liberal	Elected in 1965.
	7th Congress						Re-elected in 1969. Term cut short upon the imposition of martial law.
District dissolved into the twelve-seat Region I's at-large district for the Interim Batasang Pambansa.

Batasang Pambansa (1978–1986)

Term	Legislature		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District re-created February 1, 1984. [9]
July 23, 1984 – March 25, 1986	Regular Batasang Pambansa			Arturo Barbero		KBL	Elected in 1984.

House of Representatives (1987–present)

Term	Legislature		Portrait	Member	Party		Electoral history
District re-created February 2, 1987.
June 30, 1987 – June 30, 1992	8th Congress			Rudolfo Bernardez		LABAN	Elected in 1987.
June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998	9th Congress			Jeremias Zapata		Lakas	Elected in 1992.
	10th Congress						Re-elected in 1995.
June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2001	11th Congress			Vicente Ysidro Valera		LDP	Elected in 1998.
June 30, 2001 – December 16, 2006	12th Congress			Luis Bersamin Jr.		PDSP	Elected in 2001.
	13th Congress					KAMPI	Re-elected in 2004. Died.
December 16, 2006 – June 30, 2007			Vacant
June 30, 2007 – June 30, 2010	14th Congress			Cecilia Seares-Luna (born 1953)		Lakas	Elected in 2007.
June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016	15th Congress			Joy Bernos (born 1977)		PDSP	Elected in 2010.
	16th Congress					Liberal	Re-elected in 2013.
June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022	17th Congress			Joseph Bernos (born 1978)		PDP–Laban	Elected in 2016.
	18th Congress					Nacionalista	Elected in 2019.
June 30, 2022 – June 30, 2025	19th Congress			Ching Bernos (born 1978)		Nacionalista (Asenso Abrenio)	Elected in 2022.
						Lakas (Asenso Abrenio)
June 30, 2025 – present	20th Congress			Joseph Bernos (born 1978)		Lakas	Elected in 2025.

Election results

2025

2025 Philippine House of Representatives election in Abra's at-large congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Lakas	Joseph Bernos	137,542	84.89
	Asenso	Mila Valera	23,094	14.24
	Aksyon	Deydey Ifurung	1,262	0.78
Total votes			161,898	100%
	Lakas gain from Liberal

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

References

1. Census of Population (2020). Table B - Population and Annual Growth Rates by Province, City, and Municipality - By Region. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved July 8, 2021.
2. "Data on the Total Number Established and Clustered Precincts, Registered Voters and Voting Centers" (PDF). Commission on Elections. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
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 May 16, 2020.
4. "Roster of Philippine legislators". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
5. "House Members". House of Representatives of the Philippines . Retrieved May 16, 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 16, 2020.
7. Act No. 2683 (March 9, 1917), An Act to Authorize the Segregation of the Subprovince of Abra From the Province of Ilocos Sur and the Reestablishment of the Former Province of Abra, and for Other Purposes., Lawyerly, retrieved May 9, 2024
8. "The 1943 Constitution". Official Gazette (Philippines) . Retrieved May 16, 2020.
9. "Proclamation No. 2332, s. 1984". Official Gazette (Philippines). February 1984. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

House of Representatives of the Philippines
Preceded by Capiz's 1st congressional district	Home district of the speaker of the National Assembly July 16, 1934 – November 15, 1935	Succeeded by Negros Occidental's 3rd congressional district