A new municipality has been created in the province of Basilan, cementing the reputation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as the region that most frequently fragment existing local government units (LGU), usually despite their economic non-viability.

A regional lawmaker defended the creation of numerous LGUs, saying it helps prevent clan wars because political families are given their respective turfs, but made guarantees that no more LGUs will be created in the coming years, at least in Basilan.

The town of Tabuan-Lasa was carved out of Sumisip, a third-class municipality. Tabuan-Lasa is composed of 12 barangays—Babag, Balanting, Boloh-Boloh, Bukut-Umus, Kaumpurnah, Lanawan, Pisak-pisak, Saluping, Suligan, Sulloh, Tambulig Buton, and Tong-Umos.

It was created through Muslim Mindanao Act No. (MMA) 187, which was ratified in a plebiscite last March 29. Its creation brings the number of municipalities in Basilan to 11 and reduces the number of barangays in Sumisip, its mother municipality, from 41 to 29.

Muctar Junaid, who is expected to be appointed as the mayor of the new town, said the campaign for the creation of Tabuan-Lasa started in the 1980 and was only revived as recently. He is confident that the new town is “viable” but admits that it needs a huge amount of funds for its initial operation and infrastructure needs.

“We still do not have a municipal hall and we will temporary hold our office in Lanawan [one of the villages in the town].” Junaid told Newsbreak.

Tabuan-Lasa will start receiving its annual share in the national tax collections or Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in 2009. For this year, its fund will come from its mother LGU, Sumisip.

The new town is the sixth municipality created in Basilan by ARMM’s lawmaking body, the Regional Legislative Assembly, since May 2006. Most of the new towns created in Basilan are carved out from middle-income and low-income municipalities (See table below).

Newly created municipalities in Basilan from 2006-2008

SOURCES: National Statistical Coordination Board, National Statistics Office 

Rajam Akbar, assemblywoman from Basilan and chair of the RLA’s committee on local government, said the creation of the new municipalities in her province is part of the old plan to divide it into 11 towns.

Basilan used to be part of the chartered city of Zamboanga. It became a separate city in 1948 and was converted into a province composed of 10 municipalities in 1973 by former President Ferdinand Marcos.

The 10 municipalities were reduced to seven after three outlying municipalities were merged with their nearest neighbor. Eventually, the number of towns was further reduced to five after Isabela and Lamitan were converted into cities. (Although Isabela City is geographically part of Basilan, it is not a part of the ARMM and is administratively part of the Zamboanga Peninsula region.)

Akbar told Newsbreak that 11 municipalities are enough for the province to deliver the services and there are no plans to further divide existing municipalities. “No more new municipalities will be created in Basilan in the coming years.”

Tabuan Lasa’s creation is the latest successful attempt to create new LGUs in the ARMM. In recent years, the region has experienced a sharp increase in the number of political units. In December 2005, the region was composed only of 5 provinces, 101 municipalities, and 2,461 barangays. Since then, one province (Shariff Kabunsuan), 12 municipalities, and nine barangays have been created. The municipality of Lamitan, meanwhile, was converted into a city last year and became the region’s second city.

More towns to be created

More LGUs are expected to be created since there are pending bills that seek to divide existing towns in the region.  In Maguindanao, proposals to create four new municipalities are waiting for approval.

The proposed towns of Adam, Datu Salibo, Datu Hofer, and Shariff Tibungog will be created by regrouping some barangays from the seven existing towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki, Ampatuan, Datu Saudi, Datu Piang, Paglat, Pandag, and Gen. S. K. Pendatun

“We are still currently studying the proposals and waiting for the official population data from the 2007 National Census,” said Akbar.

Under the Local Government Code, a cluster of barangays can be converted into a municipality if it has an average annual income of P 2.5 million for the last two consecutive years, a contiguous territory of 50 square kilometers, and a population of 25,000.

A provision in the Expanded ARMM Law, however, gives the RLA the power to create new LGUs and to set its own criteria in creating, dividing, merging, or abolishing LGUs. LGUs created by the Expanded ARMM Law that do not meet the standards of the LGC are not entitled to the share in the national taxes collected by the national government and depend only on the general funds of the ARMM regional government.

Enclaves for political clans

Local officials in the region said the creation of new LGUs has helped improve the peace and order situation in the region by preventing rido or clan wars. Newly created towns and barangays serve as enclaves where political clans can rule.

“We want to avoid rivalries among our political leaders,” said Junaid.

Critics of this move, however, raised concerns about the viability of the new LGUs since most of them are carved out of low-income municipalities and eventually slashed the IRA share and local revenue generated by their mother LGUs.

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