Totum pro parte in the context of "Synecdoche"

Pars pro toto (Latin for 'a part (taken) for the whole'; /ˌpɑːrz proʊ ˈtoʊtoʊ/; Latin: [ˈpars proː ˈtoːtoː]), is a figure of speech where the name of a portion of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its entirety. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; and metonymy, where an object, place, or concept is called by something or some place associated with it. It is a form of synecdoche, which can refer both to pars pro toto and its inverse, totum pro parte (Latin for 'the whole for a part').

In the context of language, pars pro toto means that something is named after a part or subset of it or after a limited characteristic, which in itself is not necessarily representative of the whole. For example, "glasses" is a pars pro toto name for something that consists of more than just two pieces of glass (the frame, nose bridge, temples, etc. as well as the lenses). Pars pro toto usage is especially common in political geography, with examples including "Russia" or "Russians", referring to the political institution (both historically and contemporary) or its people; "Holland" for the Netherlands; and, particularly in languages other than English, using the translation of "England" in that language to refer to Great Britain or the United Kingdom.

The House of Representatives (Filipino: Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan or Kamara) is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate as the upper house. The lower house is commonly referred to as Congress, although the term collectively refers to both houses.

Members of the House are officially styled as representatives (mga kinatawan) and are sometimes informally called congressmen or congresswomen (mga kongresista). They are elected to a three-year term and can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms without an interruption of one term (e.g. serving one term in the Senate ad interim). Around 80% of congressmen are district representatives, representing specific geographical areas. The 20th Congress has 254 congressional district representatives. Party-list representatives (currently 64), who make up not more than twenty percent of the total number of representatives, are elected through the party-list system.

The Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially, the term "Congress" commonly refers to just the latter. The Senate meets at the GSIS Building in Pasay, while the House of Representatives meets at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, which also hosts joint sessions.

The Senate is composed of 24 senators half of which are elected every three years. Each senator, therefore, serves a total of six years. The senators are elected at-large and do not represent any geographical district.