Think tank rejects creation of new Bangsamoro province
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The eight towns of the Special Geographic Area (SGA), which is being proposed to become another province in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to be called Kutawato, does not yet qualify to become one, a think tank said.
“It does not currently meet the population, land area, and income criteria necessary to be constituted as a province under the Local Government Code,” the Cotabato City-based Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) said in a statement Thursday.
The SGA comprised the 63 villages of six towns of Cotabato province that joined the BARMM by ratifying Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM in 2019. These villages are now constituted into eight new towns following a plebiscite last April 13.
Unmet requirements
These eight new towns, which are predominantly Moro-populated and home to many members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, are Kadayangan Kapalawan, Ligawasan, Malidegao, Nabalawag and Old Kaabakan; with seven villages each; Pahamuddin, with 12 villages; and Tugunan, with nine.
IAG said these towns are not contiguous and cover an area of only 552.314 square kilometers, significantly less than the 2,000-square-kilometer required to become a province by the Local Government Code.
It added that the combined population of the eight municipalities is also below the 250,000 minimum number of inhabitants required.
The income criterion is also unmet, as the average annual income of the proposed province has not been certified by the Bureau of Local Government Finance, IAG further said.
In a 10-page policy report titled “Elevating SGA to a Province: Legal Challenges and Opportunities,” the think tank recommended its annexation to Maguindanao del Norte, but suggested deferring this until after the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in 2025.
Since both annexation and the creation of a legislative district require an act of Congress, these actions should be undertaken after the 2025 midterm elections, and the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, it said.
Let Congress decide
“By then, the elected parliament will have the people’s mandate, and there will be sufficient time for wider dissemination of the proposal and more effective consultations. This timing ensures the decision-making process is inclusive and well-informed, addressing all stakeholder concerns,” it added.
Last November 11, Sen. Robinhood Padilla filed Senate Bill 2875, which seeks to create Kutawato province out of the SGA.
In a press statement, Padilla said that Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia on November 7 “noted voters in the 63 barangays could not vote because they currently do not belong to any province.
Padilla aired concerns that the current situation of voters in the eight towns may violate their constitutional right to suffrage, as outlined in Section 1, Article V of the 1987 Constitution.
The bill proposed to make Pahamuddin as capital town of the new province.
Padilla’s measure has gained the support of the League of Bangsamoro Organizations, a coalition of 600 civil society groups within and outside the Bangsamoro region.
In the meantime, according to the IAG, the eight SGA municipalities can continue to exist and elect their municipal officials in 2025, emphasizing that the elections can add legitimacy to their existence as a municipal corporation and to the authority of their officials.
The existence of a higher local government authority over them, such as a provincial government, is not absolutely necessary for their continued existence or for administration and supervision, the IAG pointed out.
