[1] Normally in this time period chartered cities — by virtue of being independently governed — are not enumerated as part of new provinces.
4413, enacted on June 19, 1965[2]) was still being decided in the courts at the time of R.A. 4849's approval, Section 1 of the said law explicitly listed the City of Rajah Buayan as part of South Cotabato in case it reverted to its former status as the municipality of General Santos, which eventually happened on 29 October 1966 when the Supreme Court nullified the 6 December 1965 COMELEC proclamation declaring the creation of the new chartered city.
Under the new Constitution which was proclaimed on February 11, 1987, the province was reapportioned into three congressional districts;[5] each elected its member to the restored House of Representatives starting that same year.
7228 and its subsequent ratification by plebiscite on 11 May 1992 separated South Cotabato's entire third district to create the new province of Sarangani.
[7] However, the city effectively constitutes a lone district,[8] as it does not vote for provincial officials of South Cotabato.
[10] In the same ruling, the Supreme Court ordered COMELEC to convene a Special Provincial Board of Canvassers to proclaim the winning candidate, Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles who garnered 68.55% of the votes cast in the May 2019 election, as the duly elected representative of the 1st Congressional District of South Cotabato, including General Santos.
[11] It passed on third and final reading in the House of Representatives on September 15, 2021, and in the Senate on January 31, 2022, with an amendment where the first election for the reapportioned seats will be in 2025.
The bill lapsed into a law without then President Rodrigo Duterte's signature on June 2, 2022, and was indexed under Republic Act No.