COTABATO CITY – Representative Ronnie Sinsuat of Maguindanao’s first district said Monday he has filed House Bill No. 4840 for the creation of “Western Maguindanao.”
If passed, the new province would become the sixth province under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Under Sinsuat's bill, the new province would consist of the towns of Barira, Buldon, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Mother Kabuntalan, Matanog, Northern Kabuntalan, Parang, Sultan Mastura, Upi, and Sultan Kudarat to form the new province.
The 11 towns comprise the first district of Maguindanao.
Sinsuat proposed that the town of Sultan Kudarat town would be the new province's provincial capital.
The proposed new province has a land area of more than 4,000 square kilometers and has more than 500,000 population.
In 2006, members of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) enacted a measure creating Shariff Kabunsuan province, comprising the towns of Maguindanao’s first district, that was carved out of Maguindanao.
In the same year, voters in Maguindanao ratified the creation of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan in a plebiscite.
However, the Supreme Court in 2008 declared the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan province as illegal since the then ARMM legislative body has no authority to create a province. It said only the Philippine Congress has the authority to create provinces and cities.
Aside from Sinsuat, Maguindanao 2nd district Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu also filed House Bill 3054 in August this year for the division of Maguindanao into two and the creation of Maguindanao North province. (PNA)
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081867
