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The provinces of the Philippines are the primary administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region as well as independent cities are autonomous from any provincial government. Each province is administered by an elected governor who oversees various local government entities.
The provinces are grouped into seventeen regions based on geographical, cultural, and ethnological characteristics. Fourteen of the regions are designated with numbers corresponding to their geographic location from north to south. The National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao do not have number designations.
Each province is member to the League of Provinces of the Philippines, an organization which aims to address issues affecting provincial and metropolitan government administrations.[1]
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Government
Provincial government is autonomous of other provinces within the Republic. Each province is governed by two main elected branches of government: executive and legislative. Judicial affairs are separated from provincial governance, administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
National
National intrusion into the affairs of each provincial government is limited by the constitution. The President of the Philippines however coordinates with provincial administrators through the Department of the Interior and Local Government. For purposes of national representation, each province is divided into one or more congressional districts. One congressional representative represents each district in the House of Representatives. Senate representation is elected at an at-large basis and not apportioned by provincial districts.
Executive
The provincial governor is chief executive and head of each province. Elected to a term of three years and limited to three terms, he or she appoints the directors of each provincial department which include the office of administration, engineering office, information office, legal office and treasury office.
Legislative
The vice-governor acts as the president of each Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP; English: Provincial Board), the province's legislative body. The Sanggunian is composed of members from provincial districts. The number of SP members to which a province is entitled is determined by its income class. First- and second-class provinces have ten SP members; third- and fourth-class provinces have eight, and fifth- and sixth-class provinces have six. The only exceptions to this rule are provinces which have more than five congressional districts. Cebu, Negros Occidental and Pangasinan have twelve board members each.
Each Sangguniang Panlalawigan has designated seats for ex-officio members. Such seats are given to the local president of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), the local president of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL), and the local president of the Sanggunian Kabataan (SK; English: Youth Council).
The vice-governor and members of the Sanggunian are elected by the citizens of the province. Ex-officio members are elected by members of their respective organizations.
Map
List of provinces
- For a sortable table containing figures for all first-level subdivisions (provinces and independent cities), see List of primary local government units of the Philippines.
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NOTES:
- All population and land area figures include cities independent from provinces. In this table, they are counted as part of the province to which they previously belonged, but in actuality they are governed independently from the province.
- Metro Manila is included for comparison although it is not a province but a region.
- Land area figures taken from 2008 IRA computation factors.
- Population figures taken from National Statistics Office.
Maps
 Provinces by the years they achieved province status. |
 Island (blue) and landlocked (red) provinces. The grey areas have both land and sea boundaries. |
 Provinces classified by income classification. |
 Provinces classified by population. |
 Provinces classified by area. |
 Provinces classified by population density. |
Etymologies
History
When the United States acquired the Philippines from Spain in 1898, the islands were divided into four gobiernos, which were further subdivided into provinces and districts. The American administration initially inherited the Spanish divisions and placed them under military government. As insurgencies were pacified, civil government was gradually restored.
- 1901-06-11: Morong district merged with part of Manila Province to form Rizal Province.
- 1902: Mindoro merged with Marinduque; Amburayan province split from La Union; later, Marinduque province merged with Tayabas.
- 1903: Moro Province formed, consisting of the districts of Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu, and Zamboanga. Its capital was the town of Zamboanga.
- 1908: Abra province merged with Ilocos Sur; split from it again on 1917.
- 1908-08-13: Mountain Province formed by merging the provinces of Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Lepanto, which became its sub-provinces.
- 1916-08-29: Name and status of Moro Province changed to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Status of its districts (Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu, and Zamboanga) changed to provinces.
- 1917-03-10: Most of the pre-war provinces formally established or re-established. Ambos Camarines province divided into Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur provinces; Abra and Romblon re-established.
- 1920-02-21: Marinduque province split from Tayabas.
- 1920-12-15: Masbate province split from Sorsogon.
- 1921-02-20: Mindoro province split from Marinduque.
- 1923-03-27: Leyte divided into Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte by law, but never proclaimed by the governor-general.
- 1929-11-02: Misamis province divided into Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental provinces (implemented 1939-11-28).
- 1945-09-26: Catanduanes province split from Albay.
- 1946: Romblon province merged again with Capiz; split from it again on 1947-01-01.
- 1946-09-07: Name of Tayabas province changed to Quezon.
- 1950-06-13: Mindoro province split into Mindoro Occidental and Mindoro Oriental.
- 1952-06-06: Zamboanga province split into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
- 1959-05-22: Lanao province divided into Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur; Southern Leyte province split from Leyte.
- 1960-06-19: Surigao province divided into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur provinces.
- 1965-06-19: Samar province divided into Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, and Western Samar.
- 1966-06-18: South Cotabato province split from Cotabato; Benguet, Ifugao, and Kalinga-Apayao provinces split from Mountain Province; Camiguin province split from Misamis Oriental.
- 1967-05-08: Davao province divided into Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental provinces (implemented 1967-07-01).
- 1967-06-17: Agusan province divided into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur provinces (implemented 1970-01-01).
- 1969-06-21: Name of Western Samar province changed to Samar.
- 1969-08-04: Samal sub-province created from Davao del Norte but never inaugurated.
- 1971-09-10: Quirino province split from Nueva Vizcaya.
- 1971-10-04: Maranaw province created from Lanao del Sur but never inaugurated.
- 1972-01-08: Siquijor province split from Negros Oriental.
- 1972-06-17: Name of Davao del Norte province changed to Davao.
- 1973-11-22: Cotabato province divided into Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat provinces.
- 1973-12-27: Status of Basilan changed from chartered city to province.
- 1975-11-08: Metro Manila established from four chartered cities, and towns of Rizal and Bulacan.
- 1983-12-19: Name of North Cotabato province changed to Cotabato.
- 1986-01-03: Negros del Norte province split from Negros Occidental.
- 1986-08-18: Negros del Norte creation found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, reverts as part of Negros Occidental.
- 1992-03-16: Sarangani province split from South Cotabato.
- 1998-03-07: Compostela Valley province split from Davao province. Name of Davao province changed back to Davao del Norte.
- 2001-02-23: Zamboanga Sibugay province split from Zamboanga del Sur.
- 2006-08-30: Shariff Kabunsuan province split from Maguindanao.
- 2006-10-02: Dinagat Islands province split from Surigao del Norte.
- 2008-11-18: Shariff Kabunsuan creation found unconstitutional by Supreme Court, reverts as part of Maguindanao.
Formally proposed provinces
Note: This section lists only those proposals that reached the stage where legislation was enacted for the purpose of establishing 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. The division never took place however as no proclamation was issued by the governor-general. [9]
- The province of Oriental Leyte would have covered the present-day territories of the entire province of Biliran, 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 designated as the provincial capital).
- The province of Occidental Leyte would have covered the present-day territories of the entire province of Southern Leyte, the municipalities of Albuera, Bato, Hilongos, Hindang, Inopacan, Isabel, Kananga, Matag-ob, Matalom, Merida, Palompon, Villaba and the cities of Baybay and Ormoc. The province capital of Occidental Leyte "SEC. 2. ... shall be designated by the Governor-General, until determined by a plurality vote of the electors of the new province at the next general election."
- Samal (1969) – The sub-province of Samal was created by Republic Act No. 5999 and covered the area of the present-day Island Garden City of Samal (or in other words, the whole island of Samal). However, the sub-province was never inaugurated.
- Maranaw (1971) – Republic Act 6406, which sought to create a new province out of eastern Lanao del Sur (now corresponding to the province's first congressional district), was approved on October 4, 1971. The province was to consist of Marawi City (the capital) and the municipalities of Bubong, Ditsaan-Ramain (including what is now Buadiposo-Buntong), Kapai, Lumba-Bayabao (including what is now Maguing), Marantao, Masiu, Mulondo, Saguiaran, Piagapo, Poona Bayabao, Tamparan, Taraka and Wao (including what is now Bumbaran). Lanao del Sur was to retain the remaining municipalities, with Malabang serving as its new capital. Without the political will or the resources to implement it, the division never took place. A legacy of this unimplemented division is the existence of two ZIP code series for Lanao del Sur: the 93 series was retained by what were to be the remaining towns of the province (with Malabang, the new capital, being assigned the code 9300), while a new series (97) was assigned to what was supposed to be the province of Maranaw (with Marawi City getting the code 9700).
- Negros del Norte (1985-1986) – Batas Pambansa Blg. 885, which sought to create a new province out of the northern portion of Negros Occidental, took effect on December 23, 1985, with a plebiscite to ratify the law held on January 3, 1986. The province was to be composed of the cities of Cadiz (which was to serve as the capital), San Carlos and Silay, as well as the municipalities of Calatrava, E. B. Magalona, Escalante, Manapla, Salvador Benedicto, Sagay, Toboso and Victorias. Although the creation of the new province was ratified by voters in the proposed new province, the Supreme Court declared Batas Pambansa Blg. 885, as well as the proclamation of the province of Negros del Norte, null and void on July 11, 1986 after ruling that the enabling law was unconstitutional.
- Isabela del Norte and Isabela del Sur (1995) – On February 20, 1995 Republic Act 7891, which sought to divide the province of Isabela, was approved. Isabela del Norte was to comprise municipalities belonging to the province's first and second congressional districts with Ilagan serving as capital. Isabela del Sur was to consist of the third and fourth congressional districts (excluding the independent component city of Santiago), with Cauayan as the capital. The proposed division was rejected in a plebiscite held on June 20, 1995.
- Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur (2007) – The act dividing the province of Quezon into two, Republic Act 9495, lapsed into law without the president's signature on September 7, 2007. Quezon del Norte was to be composed of the first and second congressional districts of the province, with Lucena City as its capital. Quezon del Sur, with its capital at Gumaca, would have been composed of the third and fourth congressional districts. The COMELEC held the plebiscite on December 13, 2008 and majority of the votes cast rejected the division.
References
- ^ About the League of Provinces, League of Provinces of the Philippines, http://www.lpp.gov.ph/facts/index.html, retrieved on 2008-01-12
- ^ Cabadbaran has been made the official capital of the province, as per Republic Act 8811. However, the seat of the provincial government is still in the process of being transferred from Butuan City, where the provincial government still holds office.
- ^ The province maintains another government center in Luna, wherein many national and provincial agencies have already moved from Kabugao. Philippine Information Agency - Apayao gov't center established in Luna
- ^ The provincial government of Cavite makes it clear that Imus is the provincial capital, while the seat of the provincial government is Trece Martires City. Official Website of the Province of Cavite - Socio-economic Profile.
- ^ a b c d e f g Because the provincial government holds office within an independent city, in effect the province maintains the seat of its government outside its jurisdiction.
- ^ The provincial government still uses and maintains facilities in the former capital, Cabanatuan City.
- ^ The provincial government has already transferred its operations to Antipolo City, although no legislation on the national level has been enacted yet recognizing the new capital. Yehey! News - Board wants Antipolo officially named capital of Rizal
- ^ The National Statistical Coordination Board recognizes both Bongao and Panglima Sugala as capitals of the province. However, the provincial capitol is located in Bongao, the de facto seat of government.
- ^ 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, http://philippines-archipelago.com/politics/map/region_viii/eastern_visayas.html, retrieved on 2008-05-17
- Philippine Standard Geographic Code Interactive, National Statistical Coordination Board
- 2007 Census of Population Results, National Statistics Office, Republic of the Philippines
- The Local Government Code of the Philippines, Department of Interior and Local Government, Republic of the Philippines
- Provinces of the Philippines, Gwillim Law, Statoids.com
External links
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