The Legislative district of Davao del Sur is the representation of the province of Davao del Sur 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 lone congressional district.
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Davao City and Davao Occidental last formed part of the province's representation in 1972 and 2016, respectively.
History
Prior to gaining separate representation, areas now under the jurisdiction of Davao del Sur were represented under the Department of Mindanao and Sulu (1917–1935) and the historical Davao Province (1935–1967). The enactment of Republic Act No. 4867 on 8 May 1967 split the old province into Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental. Per Section 4 of R.A. 4867, the incumbent Davao Province representative was to indicate which of the three new provinces he wished to continue to represent; Rep. Lorenzo Sarmiento chose Davao del Norte, which left the seats for Davao del Sur (together grouped with the chartered city of Davao) and Davao Oriental open for the special elections scheduled for 14 November 1967. Davao del Sur, along with Davao City, were represented together from the second half of the 6th Congress until the end of the 7th Congress.
Davao del Sur was represented in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as part of Region XI from 1978 to 1984, and returned two representatives, elected at-large to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Davao City separately elected its own representatives starting that year.
Davao del Sur was reapportioned into two congressional districts under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on 11 February 1987, and elected members to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.
The passage of Republic Act No. 10360 and its subsequent ratification by plebiscite in 2013 separated from Davao del Sur's second district five municipalities to create the province of Davao Occidental. Per Section 7 of R.A. 10360, this new province comprised a single congressional district, and Davao del Sur's representation was subsequently reduced to a single congressional district. The newly reconfigured districts elected their separate representatives beginning in the 2016 elections.