Provinces of the Philippines

The provinces of the Philippines (In Filipino : Lalawigan or Probinsya ) form a basic administrative level of the island state. The entire country is divided into 81 provinces , which in turn are grouped into 17 regions . 14 of these regions are assigned a number according to their geographical location from north to south. Only the National Capital Region , Cordillera Administrative Region and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have no attached numbering. The provinces are subdivided into cities and independently administered municipalities and these in turn into barangays (districts). The National Capital Region of Metro Manila is independent of a provincial government. Each province is ruled by an elected governor who presides over various local government institutions.

Each province is a member of the League of Provinces of the Philippines , an organization whose task it is to bring concerns of the provincial governments to the government administration in the capital and to mediate between the two levels of administration.

government

The provincial government is independent from other provinces and the Philippine Republic. Each province has two basic elected government arms: the executive and the legislative. Legal matters, however, are not a matter for the provincial government and are instead dealt with by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

National

National interference in the affairs of the provincial government is limited by the constitution . The President of the Philippines coordinates with the provincial administrators through the Department of the Interior and Local Government . For national representation, one or more representatives from each province are elected to the Congress of the Philippines , for which the provinces are divided into different districts. Each city or municipality belongs to one of these districts. Each congress representative then represents his or her district in the House of Representatives . The Senate representatives , on the other hand, are not elected according to the provincial districts, but from an overall list.

executive

The governor of the province is the chairman of the board and the political head of the province. He is elected for a term of three years and may stand for a maximum of three terms. He or she appoints the heads of each provincial ministry, including the administrative authority, the building ministry, the information office, the ministry of law, and the treasury.

legislative branch

The lieutenant governor is also the president of each provincial council, the body that constitutes the legislature . This council is composed of members from the provincial districts. The districts send eight or ten council members, depending on the income bracket of the province. First- or second-tier provinces have ten councilors, while third- or fourth-tier provincial councils have eight members. Cebu , Negros Occidental and Pangasinan even have twelve council members each.

Each provincial council also appoints seats for ex officio members. These seats go to the local president of the Association of Barangay Captains, the local president of the Philippine Councilors League and the local president of the youth council, Sanggunian Kabataan .

The lieutenant governor and the councilors of the provincial council are elected by the residents of the province. Members “ex officio”, on the other hand, are determined by the members of the organizations they represent.

Table overview

The Metro Manila is listed as a basis for comparison, although it is not a province but a region.

Philippine provinces

province	Capital	district	Residents 2015	Area in km²	Population density (inh / km²)
Abra	Bangued	CAR	0.241.160	3,975.6	60.7
Agusan del Norte	Cabadbaran City	XIII	0.691,566	2,590.0	267.0
Agusan del Sur	Prosperidad	XIII	0.700,653	8,966.0	78.1
Aklan	Calibo	VI	0.574,823	1,817.9	316.2
Albay	Legazpi City	V	1,314,826	2,552.6	515.1
Antique	San Jose	VI	0.582.012	2,522.0	230.8
Apayao	Kabugao	CAR	0.119.184	3,927.9	30.3
Aurora	Baler	III	0.214,336	3,239.5	66.2
Basilan	Isabela City 1	ARMM	0.346,579	1,234.2	280.8
Bataan	Balanga	III	0.760.650	1,373.0	554.0
Batanes	Basco	II	0.017,246	209.3	82.4
Batangas	Batangas City	IV-A	2,694,335	3,165.8	851.1
Benguet	La Trinidad	CAR	0.791,590	2,655.4	298.1
Biliran	Naval	VIII	0.171,612	555.5	308.9
Bohol	Tagbilaran	VII	1,313,560	4,117.3	319.0
Bukidnon	Malaybalay City	X	1,415,226	8,293.8	170.6
Bulacan	Malolos City	III	3,292,071	2,625.0	1,254.1
Cagayan	Tuguegarao City	II	1,199,320	9,002.7	133.2
Camarines Norte	Daet	V	0.583,313	2,112.5	276.1
Camarines Sur	Pili	V	1,952,544	5,266.8	370.7
Camiguin	Mambajao	X	0.088,478	238.6	370.8
Capiz	Roxas City	VI	0.761.384	2,633.2	289.1
Catanduanes	Virac	V	0.260.964	1,511.5	172.6
Cavite	Trece Martires City	IV-A	3,678,301	1,287.6	2,856.7
Cebu	Cebu City	VII	4,632,359	5,088.4	910.4
Cotabato	Kidapawan City	XII	1,379,747	6,569.9	210.0
Davao del Norte	Tagum City	XI	1,016,332	3,463.0	293.5
Davao del Sur	Digos City	XI	2,265,579	6,377.6	355.2
Davao de Oro	Nabunturan	XI	0.580.244	4,667.0	124.3
Davao Occidental	Malita	XI	0.316.342	2,163.5	146.2
Davao Oriental	Mati City	XI	0.558,958	5,164.5	108.2
Dinagat Islands	San Jose	XIII	0.127.152	802.1	158.1
Eastern Samar	Borongan City	VIII	0.467.160	4,339.6	107.7
Guimaras	Jordan	VI	0.174,613	604.7	288.8
Ifugao	Lagawe	CAR	0.202,802	2,517.8	80.5
Ilocos Norte	Laoag City	Ilocos region	0.593.081	3,399.3	174.5
Ilocos Sur	Vigan City	Ilocos region	0.689,668	2,579.6	267.3
Iloilo	Iloilo City	VI	2,384,415	4,719.4	505.2
Isabela	Ilagan	II	1,593,566	10,664.6	149.4
Kalinga	Tabuk City	CAR	0.212,680	3,119.7	68.2
La Union	San Fernando City	Ilocos region	0.786.653	1,493.1	526.9
Laguna	Santa Cruz	IV-A	3,035,081	1,759.7	1,724.8
Lanao del Norte	Tubod	X	1,019,013	3,092.0	329.6
Lanao del Sur	Marawi City	ARMM	1,045,429	3,872.9	269.9
Leyte	Tacloban City	VIII	1,966,768	5,712.8	344.3
Maguindanao	Shariff Aguak	ARMM	1,173,933	4,900.1	239.6
Marinduque	Boac	IV-B	0.234,521	959.3	244.5
Masbate	Masbate City	V	0.892.393	4,047.7	220.5
Metro Manila	Manila (District Center)	NCR	12,877,253	636.0	20,247.3
Misamis Occidental	Oroquieta City	X	0.602.126	1,939.3	310.5
Misamis Oriental	Cagayan de Oro	X	1,564,459	3,570.0	438.2
Mountain Province	Bontoc	CAR	0.154,590	2,097.3	73.7
Negros Occidental	Bacolod City	VI	3,059,136	7,926.1	386.0
Negros Oriental	Dumaguete City	VII	1,354,995	5,402.3	250.8
Northern Samar	Catarman	VIII	0.632.379	3,498.0	180.8
Nueva Ecija	Palayan City	III	2,151,461	5,284.3	407.1
Nueva Vizcaya	Bayombong	II	0.452.287	3,903.9	115.9
Occidental Mindoro	Mamburao	IV-B	0.487.414	5,879.9	82.9
Oriental Mindoro	Calapan City	IV-B	0.844.059	4,364.7	193.4
Palawan	Puerto Princesa	VI	1,104,585	14,896.3	74.1
Pampanga	San Fernando	III	2,609,744	2,180.7	1,196.7
Pangasinan	Lingayen	Ilocos region	2,956,726	5,368.2	550.8
Quezon	Lucena City	IV-A	2,122,830	8,706.6	243.8
Quirino	Cabarroguis	II	0.188.991	3,057.2	61.8
Rizal	Antipolo City	IV-A	2,884,227	1,308.9	2,203.6
Romblon	Romblon	IV-B	0.292,781	1,355.9	215.9
Samar	Catbalogan City	VIII	0.780.481	5,591.0	139.9
Sarangani	Alabel	XII	0.544.261	2,980.0	182.6
Siquijor	Siquijor	VII	0.095,984	343.5	279.4
Sorsogon	Sorsogon City	V	0.792.949	2,141.4	370.3
South Cotabato	Coronadal City	XII	1,509,735	4,489.0	336.3
Southern Leyte	Maasin City	VIII	0.421,750	1,734.8	243.1
Sultan Kudarat	Isulan	XII	0.812.095	4,714.8	172.2
Sulu	Jolo	ARMM	0.824.731	1,600.4	515.3
Surigao del Norte	Surigao City	XIII	0.485.088	2,739.0	177.1
Surigao del Sur	Tandag City	XIII	0.592,250	4,552.2	130.1
Tarlac	Tarlac City	III	1,366,027	3,053.4	447.4
Tawi-Tawi	Panglima Sugala	ARMM	0.390.715	1,087.4	359.3
Zambales	Iba	III	0.823.888	3,714.4	221.8
Zamboanga del Norte	Dipolog City	IX	1,011,393	6,618.0	152.8
Zamboanga del Sur	Pagadian City	IX	1,872,473	4,964.1	377.2
Zamboanga Sibugay	Ipil	IX	0.633.129	3,087.9	205.0

historical development

When the United States was awarded the Philippines by the Spanish on the basis of the Paris Treaty in 1898 , the island state was divided into four gobiernos (government areas), which in turn were subdivided into provinces and districts. The American administration initially took over the Spanish administrative structure and placed it under a military government. When uprisings threatened to arise, a civilian government was set up again to counteract this development.

The following are the political changes that have occurred in relation to the provinces:

• June 11, 1901: The Morong District merges with part of the Manila Province to form the new Rizal Province .
• 1902: Mindoro province unites with Marinduque ; The Amburayan province splits off from La Union ; Marinduque later reunites with Tayabas.
• 1903: The Moro Province is formed from the districts of Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu and Zamboanga. The capital is Zamboanga City .
• 1905: The name of the province of Paragua changes to Palawan . The Masbate province unites with Sorsogon.
• 1907: The Romblon province is amalgamated with the Capiz province and splits off again in 1917.
• August 20, 1907: Agusan Province splits off from Surigao.
• 1908: The province of Abra joins Ilocos Sur and splits off again on March 9, 1917.
• August 13, 1908: Mountain Province is formed by amalgamating Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga and the province of Lepanto, which becomes their sub-province.
• 1909: The province of Batanes is separated from Cagayan.
• August 29, 1916: The name and status of Moro Province changes to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. The districts contained in it (Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu and Zamboanga) are converted into provinces.
• March 10, 1917: The province of Ambos Camarines is divided into Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur .
• February 21, 1920: The Marinduque province splits off from Tayabas.
• December 15, 1920: Masbate Province splits off from Sorsogon .
• February 20, 1921: Mindoro Province splits off from Marinduque .
• March 27, 1923: Leyte is divided by law into Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte, but this is never proclaimed by the responsible governor-general.
• November 2, 1929: The Misamis Province is divided into Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental (but will not be established until November 28, 1939).
• September 26, 1945: The province of Catanduanes splits off from Albay .
• 1946: The Romblon province merges with Capiz and separates from her again on January 1, 1947.
• September 7, 1946: The name of the province of Tayabas is changed to Quezon .
• June 13, 1950: The Mindoro Province is divided into Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro .
• June 6, 1952: The province of Zamboanga is divided between Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur .
• April 25, 1956: The Aklan Province splits off from Capiz (this will not take place until November 8, 1956).
• May 22, 1959: The province of Lanao is divided into Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur ; Southern Leyte splits off from the Province of Leyte .
• June 19, 1960: The province of Surigao is divided into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur .
• June 19, 1965: The province of Samar is divided into Eastern Samar , Northern Samar and Western Samar.
• June 18, 1966: South Cotabato Province splits off from Cotabato; The provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao split off from Mountain; The Camiguin Province separates from Misamis Oriental.
• May 8, 1967: Davao Province is divided into Davao del Norte , Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental (officially consummated on July 1, 1967).
• June 17, 1967: The Agusan Province is divided into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur (officially completed on January 1, 1970).
• June 21, 1969: The name Western Samar changes to Samar .
• 4th August 1969: A sub-province of Samal is formed from the province of Davao del Norte , which is never officially established.
• September 10, 1971: The Quirino province splits off from Nueva Vizcaya.
• October 4, 1971: Maranaw Province is formed from Lanao del Norte Province , but is never officially established.
• January 8, 1972: Siquijor Province splits off from Negros Oriental.
• June 17, 1972: The name of the province Davao del Norte changes its name to Davao.
• September 11, 1973: Tawi-Tawi Province splits off from Sulu.
• November 22, 1973: The Cotabato Province is divided into Maguindanao , North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat .
• December 27, 1973: Basilan (previously part of the Zamboanga del Sur province) changes its status from a notarized city to a province.
• November 8, 1975: Metro Manila Province splits off from Rizal Province .
• August 13, 1979: Aurora Province splits off from Quezon Province following a referendum.
• December 19, 1983: The name of North Cotabato changes to Cotabato.
• January 3, 1986: The Province of Negros del Norte splits off from the Province of Negros Occidental . However, this action is deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The original condition is restored on August 18, 1986.
• March 16, 1992: Sarangani Province separates from South Cotabato Province .
• May 11, 1992: Biliran Province splits off from Leyte ; The Guimaras Province separates from the Iloilo Province .
• February 14, 1995: The province of Kalinga-Apayao is divided into the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao .
• March 7, 1998: Compostela Valley separates from Davao Province. The name of the province Davao is renamed to Davao del Norte.
• February 23, 2001: The province of Zamboanga Sibugay splits off from Zamboanga del Sur .
• August 30, 2006: Shariff Kabunsuan province secedes from Maguindanao .
• October 2, 2006: The Dinagat Islands province splits off from Surigao del Norte .
• November 18, 2008: The Supreme Court of the Philippines declares Shariff Kabunsuan's demerger null and void.
• October 28, 2013: Davao Occidental province splits off from Davao del Norte .

Formerly proposed provinces

Note: The following list only deals with those projects that have already achieved the status of legitimation to establish a province.

• Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte (March 27, 1923) - Leyte was divided into two new provinces by Act No. 3117 on March 27, 1923. However, this division was never carried out, as an official proclamation was never issued by the governor-general responsible.
  • The Oriental Leyte Province would originally have consisted of the territories of today's Biliran Province and the municipalities of Abuyog, Alangalang, Babatngon, Barugo, Burauen, Calubian, Capoocan, Carigara, Dagami, Dulag, Jaro, Javier, Julita, La Paz, Leyte, MacArthur, Mahaplag , Mayorga, Palo, Pastrana, San Isidro, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Tabango, Tabontabon, Tanauan, Tolosa, Tunga and Tacloban City (which was chosen as the provincial capital).
  • The province of Occidental Leyte , on the other hand, was to occupy today's province of Southern Leyte as well as the municipal areas of Albuera, Bato, Hilongos, Hindang, Inopacan, Isabel, Kananga, Matag-ob, Matalom, Merida, Palompon, Villaba and the cities of Baybay City and Ormoc City . The capital of Occidental Leyte “ SEC. 2. ... should be determined by the Governor General after the new province has been approved by the majority of their votes in the next main election. "

• Samal (1969) - Republic Act No. 5999 established a sub-province of Samal that would have occupied the areas of what is now the Island Garden City of Samal (or in other words, the entire island of Samal). The official establishment of this sub-province never took place.
• Maranaw (1971) - The Republic Act 6406 , which was recognized on October 4, 1971, aimed to establish a new Maranaw Province from eastern Lanao del Sur (which now corresponds to the province's 1st Congress District). The province should consist of the city of Marawi City (as the capital) and the communities of Bubong, Ditsaan-Ramain (including the present-day Buadiposo-Buntong), Kapai, Lumba-Bayabao (including today's Maguing ), Marantao, Masiu, Mulondo, Saguiaran , Piagapo, Poona Bayabao, Tamparan, Taraka, and Wao (including today's Bumbaran ). Lanao del Sur would thus have consisted of the other municipalities, with Malabang having been granted the seat of the provincial government. However, without the political will or the means to implement it, the division was never implemented. A legacy of this unrealized division can be read from the fact that there are now two rows of ZIP codes (postcodes) for Lanao del Sur; the 93 series was intended for the remaining villages in the province (with Malabang as the seat of government and the number 9300), as well as the new 97 series for the newly formed province of Maranaw (with the zip code 9700 for Marawi City).
• Negros del Norte (1985–1986) - The Batas Pambansa Blg. 885 , which came into effect on December 23, 1985, was intended to create a new province from the northern parts of the Negros Occidental . A referendum on its ratification was held on January 3, 1986. The province would have consisted of the cities of Cadiz City , which was intended as the capital, Escalante City , San Carlos City , Silay City , Sagay City and Victorias City , as well as the municipalities of Calatrava, E. B. Magalona, ​​Manapla, Salvador Benedicto and Toboso. Although the new province was approved by its residents, the Supreme Court declared Batas Pambansa Blg. 885 and the proclamation of the province of Negros del Norte are null and void and on June 11, 1986, after a thorough process, ruled that the Enabling Act was unconstitutional.
• Isabela del Norte and Isabela del Sur (1995) - On February 20, 1995, Republic Act 7891 was enacted, which divided the province of Isabela . One part, Isabela del Norte, should consist of the parishes that belong to the first and second congress district, with Ilagan as the capital. Isabela del Sur, in turn, was to contain the third and fourth congressional districts (excluding the province-independent city of Santiago City ), with Cauayan City as its capital. However, the proposed division was rejected by a referendum on June 20, 1995.
• Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur (2007) - The Republic Act 9495 aimed to divide the province of Quezon. The law envisaged for this purpose expired on September 7, 2007, as it did not get the President's signature in time. Quezon del Norte should consist of the first and second congressional districts of the province and receive the city of Lucena City as its capital. Quezon del Sur, with the seat of government Gumaca , would have consisted of the third and fourth congressional districts. However, the implementation of the division has not yet been finally refused, a referendum is to be held in 2010 together with the next presidential election and subsequently help the law to be implemented.

Individual evidence

1. ^ About the League of Provinces . League of Provinces of the Philippines. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 12, 2008. 
2. ↑ Philippines: Administrative Division (Regions and Provinces) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map. Accessed May 31, 2018 . 
3. ^ New York Times: On this day
4. ^ Philippines Archipelago, Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) . Specific information on the division of Leyte provided by David A. Short, webmaster of Philippines-Archipelago, which was updated accordingly after indirectly obtaining a copy of the text of Act No. 3117 from the Legislative Library, House of Representatives. Retrieved May 17, 2008.