Barira, officially the Municipality of Barira ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Barira'';

Iranun The Iranun are an Austronesian ethnic group native to southwestern Mindanao, Philippines. They are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Maranao, and Maguindanaon, all three groups being denoted as speaking Danao languages and giv ...

and Mëranaw: ''Inged a Barira''; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Maguindanao del Norte,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,143 people.

History

Establishment

Barira was established through ''Presidential Decree No. 1188'', signed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

on August 29, 1977, when ten ''

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s'', two of them partially, and 45 ''

sitio A ''sitio'' ( Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

s'' of Buldon were separated. The

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...

was designated at Sitio Pedtad, Barangay Lipawan. The Economic Development Corporation, which was established in 1951 by

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

, opened in Barira a resettlement area for former Huk members. It was administered first by the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

(AFP) until being turned over to the Department of Agrarian Reform in 1972. Barira is among the municipalities inhabited mainly by the

Iranun people The Iranun are an Austronesian ethnic group native to southwestern Mindanao, Philippines. They are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Maranao, and Maguindanaon, all three groups being denoted as speaking Danao languages and giv ...

, along with Buldon and Matanog; and while the municipality is where Camp Abubakar, the main headquarters of the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ) is an Islamist group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, t ...

(MILF), is situated, much parts of the other two had also constituted the camp since the 1980s. The local government units had held office either in

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

or in

Parang Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something whic ...

since the Marcos presidency; a municipal building was said constructed by early 2000s.

2000 battles and the fall of Camp Abubakar

Barira was the site of the last of the series of battles that led to the camp's fall on , ending almost five months of military offensives in the central

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

area. On AFP launched ''Operation Terminal Velocity'', leading to the capture of a number of rebel facilities within the Abubakar complex, with 12 counter-insurgents and 23 MILF fighters reportedly killed.

Post-battle

The town was part of the province of

Shariff Kabunsuan Shariff Kabunsuan was a short-lived province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that existed from 2006 to 2008. Its designated seat of government was Datu Odin Sinsuat. Initially comprising ten municipal ...

from October 2006 until its nullification by the Supreme Court in July 2008.

Geography

Barangays

Barira is politically subdivided into 14

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Barira (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Bualan * Gadung * Korosoyan * Lamin * Liong * Lipa * Lipawan * Marang * Nabalawag * Panggao * Rominimbang * Togaig * Minabay

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Poverty Incidence of

;Gross Domestic Product The Gross Domestic Product of the Municipality (2022) is 11,074,500,000(PHP).

References

External links

Barira Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Maguindanao del Norte Establishments by Philippine presidential decree