# Southern Leyte's at-large congressional district

Southern Leyte's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Southern Leyte. It was represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines 1961 until 2022. Southern Leyte first elected a single representative provincewide at-large representative for the 5th Congress of the Third Philippine Republic following its creation as a regular province separate from Leyte under Republic Act No. 2227 on May 22, 1959. Before 1959, its territory was represented as part of Leyte's at-large, 2nd and 3rd districts. Between 1978 and 1984, multi-seat regional delegations were formed in lieu of provinces for the Fourth Philippine Republic parliament known as the Interim Batasang Pambansa, with Southern Leyte forming part of the ten-seat Region VIII's at-large district. It was restored as a single-member district in 1984.
On February 1, 2019, Republic Act No. 11198 was signed, reapportioning Southern Leyte into two legislative districts. Due to time constraints, election to fill the seats were not fulfilled in the May 2019 election, and lone district had have a holdover position. It was instead administered in 2022.

## Representation history

| # | Image | Image | Member | Term of office | Term of office | Congress | Party | Electoral history |
| # | Image | Image | Member | Start | End | Congress | Party | Electoral history |
| Southern Leyte's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines |||||||||
| District created May 22, 1959. |||||||||
| 1 | | | Nicanor Yñiguez | December 30, 1961 | September 23, 1972 | 5th | Nacionalista | Redistricted from Leyte's 3rd district and re-elected in 1961. |
| 1 | | | Nicanor Yñiguez | December 30, 1961 | September 23, 1972 | 6th | Nacionalista | Re-elected in 1965. |
| 1 | | | Nicanor Yñiguez | December 30, 1961 | September 23, 1972 | 7th | Nacionalista | Re-elected in 1969. Removed from office after imposition of martial law. |
| District dissolved into the ten-seat Region VIII's at-large district for the Interim Batasang Pambansa. |||||||||
| # | Image | Image | Member | Term of office | Term of office | Batasang Pambansa | Party | Electoral history |
| # | Image | Image | Member | Start | End | Batasang Pambansa | Party | Electoral history |
| Southern Leyte's at-large district for the Regular Batasang Pambansa |||||||||
| District re-created February 1, 1984. |||||||||
| (1) | | | Nicanor Yñiguez | July 23, 1984 | March 25, 1986 | 2nd | KBL | Elected in 1984. |
| # | Image | Image | Member | Term of office | Term of office | Congress | Party | Electoral history |
| # | Image | Image | Member | Start | End | Congress | Party | Electoral history |
| Southern Leyte's at-large district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines |||||||||
| District re-created February 2, 1987. |||||||||
| 2 | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 1987 | October 15, 1991 | 8th | Liberal | Elected in 1987. Election annulled by House electoral tribunal following an electoral protest. |
| 3 | | | Rosette Yñiguez Lerias | December 4, 1991 | June 30, 1992 | 8th | KBL | Declared winner of 1987 elections. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 1992 | June 30, 1998 | 9th | Lakas | Elected in 1992. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 1992 | June 30, 1998 | 10th | Lakas | Re-elected in 1995. |
| 4 | | | Aniceto G. Saludo Jr. | June 30, 1998 | June 30, 2004 | 11th | PMP | Elected in 1998. |
| 4 | | | Aniceto G. Saludo Jr. | June 30, 1998 | June 30, 2004 | 12th | PMP | Re-elected in 2001. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2004 | June 30, 2013 | 13th | Lakas | Elected in 2004. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2004 | June 30, 2013 | 14th | Lakas | Re-elected in 2007. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2004 | June 30, 2013 | 15th | NUP | Re-elected in 2010. |
| 5 | | | Damian G. Mercado | June 30, 2013 | June 30, 2016 | 16th | NUP | Elected in 2013. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2016 | October 13, 2021 | 17th | Liberal | Elected in 2016. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2016 | October 13, 2021 | 17th | PDP–Laban | Elected in 2016. |
| (2) | | | Roger G. Mercado | June 30, 2016 | October 13, 2021 | 18th | Lakas | Re-elected in 2019. Resigned on appointment as acting Secretary of Public Works and Highways. |
| — | vacant | vacant | vacant | October 13, 2021 | June 30, 2022 | 18th | | No special election held to fill vacancy. |
| District dissolved into Southern Leyte's 1st and 2nd districts. |||||||||

## Election results
### 2016

2016 Philippine House of Representatives elections :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Roger Mercado | 123,806 | 65.23% |
| | UNA | Rico Rentuza | 65,998 | 34.77% |
| Valid ballots | Valid ballots | Valid ballots | 189,804 | 84.38% |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 57,808 | 30.46% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 35,132 | 15.62% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 224,936 | 100.00% |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### 2013

2013 Philippine House of Representatives elections :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | NUP | Damian Mercado | 85,919 | 48.46 |
| | Akbayan | Rico Rentuza | 34,239 | 19.31 |
| | Liberal | Marisa Lerias | 31,640 | 17.85 |
| | Independent | Vicente Geraldo | 885 | 0.50 |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 51,680 | 29.15% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 24,612 | 13.88 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 177,295 | 100.00 |
| | NUP hold | NUP hold | NUP hold | NUP hold |

### 2010

2010 Philippine House of Representatives elections :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Lakas–Kampi | Roger Mercado | 125,912 | 66.60 |
| | PMP | Aniceto Saludo | 61,595 | 32.58 |
| | Independent | Vicente Geraldo | 961 | 0.51 |
| | Independent | Jeffren Roden | 590 | 0.31 |
| Valid ballots | Valid ballots | Valid ballots | 189,058 | 91.53 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 17,500 | 8.47 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 206,558 | 100.00 |
| | Lakas–Kampi hold | Lakas–Kampi hold | Lakas–Kampi hold | Lakas–Kampi hold |