 Initially being excluded from representation in the lower house of the Philippine Legislature in 1907, the then-non-Christian-majority areas of the Philippines — which included the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, of which Zamboanga was part — were finally extended legislative representation with the passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916 by the United States Congress.The Revised Administrative Code (Act No.2711) enacted on 10 March 1917 further elaborated on the manner by which these areas would be represented.