Province of the Philippines

In the Philippines, provinces ( fil, lalawigan) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The local government units in the National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are independent of any provincial government. Each province is governed by an elected legislature called the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and an elected governor.

The provinces are grouped into seventeen regions based on geographical, cultural, and ethnological characteristics. Thirteen of these regions are numerically designated from north to south, while the National Capital Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Southwestern Tagalog Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are only designated by acronyms.

Each province is a member of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, an organization which aims to address issues affecting provincial and metropolitan government administrations.

Government

A provincial government is autonomous of other provinces within the republic. Each province is governed by two main elected branches of the government: executive and legislative. Judicial affairs are separated from provincial governance and are administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Each province has at least one branch of a Regional Trial Court.

Executive

The provincial governor is chief executive and head of each province. Elected to a term of three years and limited to three consecutive 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 for each ''Sangguniang Panlalawigan'' (SP; "Provincial Board"), the province's legislative body. Every SP is composed of regularly elected members from provincial districts, as well as ''ex officio'' members. The number of regularly elected SP members allotted to each province is determined by its income class. First- and second-class provinces are provided ten regular SP members; third- and fourth-class provinces have eight, while fifth- and sixth-class provinces have six. Exceptions are provinces with more than five congressional districts, such as Cavite with 16 regularly elected SP members, and Cebu, Negros Occidental and Pangasinan which have twelve each.

Every SP has designated seats for ''ex officio'' members, given to the respective local presidents of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), Philippine Councilors' League (PCL), and ''Sangguniang Kabataan'' (SK; "Youth Council").

The vice governor and regular members of an SP are elected by the voters within the province. ''Ex officio'' members are elected by members of their respective organizations.

Relation to other levels of government

National government

National intrusion into the affairs of each provincial government is limited by the Philippine 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 guaranteed its own congressional district. One congressional representative represents each district in the House of Representatives. Senatorial representation is elected at an at-large basis and not apportioned through territory-based districts.

Cities and municipalities

Those classified as either "highly urbanized" or "independent component" cities are independent from the province, as provided for in Section 29 of the Local Government Code of 1991. Although such a city is a self-governing second-level entity, in many cases it is often presented as part of the province in which it is geographically located, or in the case of Zamboanga City, the province it last formed part the congressional representation of.

Local government units classified as "component" cities and municipalities are under the jurisdiction of the provincial government. In order to make sure that all component city or municipal governments act within the scope of their prescribed powers and functions, the Local Government Code mandates the provincial governor to review executive orders issued by mayors, and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to review legislation by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) or Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council), of all component cities and municipalities under the province's jurisdiction.

Barangays

The provincial government does not have direct relations with individual barangays. Supervision over a barangay government is the mandate of the mayor and the Sanggunian of the component city or municipality of which the barangay in question is a part.

Classification

Provinces are classified according to average annual income based on the previous 4 calendar years. Effective July 29, 2008, the thresholds for the income classes for cities are:

A province's income class determines the size of the membership of its Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and also how much it can spend on certain items, or procure through certain means.

List

Former provinces

* Manila (until 1901) Incorporated into Rizal; portions around Manila later consolidated to form present-day NCR.
* Lepanto-Bontoc (1902–1908) Incorporated into Mountain Province.
* Moro Province (1903–1913) Converted to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, composed of seven provinces. Now part of several regions in Mindanao.
* Ambos Camarines (1901–1908) Divided into Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, although the wording of ''Act No. 2809'' implies Camarines Norte was created from ''Ambos Camarines'', the remainder of which was renamed Camarines Sur. Camarines Sur retained the provincial capital of Nueva Caceres.
* Misamis (1901–1939) Partitioned into Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental. Misamis Oriental retained the provincial capital of Cagayan.
* Mindoro (1902–1950) Divided into Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. Oriental Mindoro retained the provincial capital of Calapan.
* Zamboanga (1914–1952) Partitioned into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. The ''de jure'' provincial capital of Molave was placed under the jurisdiction of Zamboanga del Sur which had its capital in Pagadian. Zamboanga Sibugay later created from Zamboanga del Sur.
* Lanao (1914–1959) Divided into Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur. Lanao del Sur retained the provincial capital of Dansalan (now Marawi).
* Surigao (1901–1967) Partitioned into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur. Surigao del Norte retained the provincial capital of Surigao City and the provincial seal. The province of Dinagat Islands was later created from Surigao del Norte.
* Davao (1914–1967; 1972–1998) Divided into Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental. Davao del Norte was officially known as Davao from 1972 to 1998, when Compostela Valley (now Davao de Oro) was later created from Davao province. Davao Occidental later created from Davao del Sur.
* Agusan (1907–1967) Partitioned into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. Agusan del Norte retained the former provincial capital of Butuan. The provincial capital was officially transferred to Cabadbaran in 2000 but the provincial government services and functions are yet to be completely transferred to the new capital.
* Negros del Norte (1985–1986) ''Batas Pambansa Blg. 885'', which created a new province out of the northern part of Negros Occidental, took effect on December 23, 1985, with a plebiscite to ratify the law held on January 3, 1986. The province comprised the present-day cities of Cadiz (which was to serve as the capital), Escalante, Sagay, San Carlos, Silay and Victorias, as well as the municipalities of Calatrava, Enrique B. Magalona, Manapla, Salvador Benedicto and Toboso. Despite voters ratifying ''Batas Pambansa Blg. 885'', on July 11, 1986, the Supreme Court declared the law and the proclamation of the province null and void. The ruling states the enabling law was unconstitutional for, among other things, not including the rest of Negros Occidental in the plebiscite, and the proposed province not meeting the 3,500 square kilometer land area requirement of the 1983 Local Government Code.
* Kalinga-Apayao (1966–1995) Divided into Apayao and Kalinga. Kalinga retained the provincial capital of Tabuk.
* Shariff Kabunsuan (2006–2008) ''Republic Act No. 9054'' conferred to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expanded powers, especially the capacity to create provinces (Article VI, Section 19). Based on this, the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly enacted ''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201'' on August 28, 2006. The Act created a new province, comprising all the municipalities in the first congressional district of Maguindanao (except Cotabato City), with its capital at Datu Odin Sinsuat. The province's creation was approved on October 28, 2006, by a majority vote in a plebiscite. Responding to requests for clarification as to which congressional districts form Shariff Kabunsuan for the 2007 elections (specifically whether Cotabato City was part of the representation of the new province), COMELEC issued ''Resolution No. 7845'', which initially held Cotabato City to be the sole remaining LGU in the First District of Maguindanao. COMELEC later amended this with ''Resolution No. 7902'', which maintained the ''status quo'' before the province's creation. The COMELEC resolutions became the subject of a case in which the Supreme Court opined that because "''the power to create new a province or city inherently involves the power to create a legislative district''"—a power that Congress did not explicitly delegate to the ARMM Regional Assembly—the creation of a province by a lower legislative body (the ARMM Regional Assembly) will necessarily entail the creation of a legislative district for a higher legislative body (Congress). Therefore, on July 16, 2008, the Supreme Court declared Section 19, Article VI of ''RA No. 9054'' unconstitutional, ''MMA Act No. 201'' void, and ''COMELEC Resolution No. 7902'' valid.G.R. No. 177597 – Sema v. COMELEC and Dilangalen
Supreme Court of the Philippines.
* Maguindanao (1973–2022)''Republic Act No. 11550'' divided the province into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur through a plebiscite. Maguindanao del Norte resembles the former province of Shariff Kabunsuan however adds the municipality of Sultan Sumagka into its territory. The capital of Maguindanao del Norte is Datu Odin Sinsuat while the capital of Maguindanao del Sur is Buluan.

Etymologies

History

Timeline

When the United States acquired the Philippines from Spain in 1898, the islands were divided into four ''gobiernos'' (governments), 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 organized.

;1900–1901
* November 23, 1900 – Civil government of the province of Benguet established through Act No. 49. Capital moved to Baguio.
* February 6, 1901 – Act No. 83, or the Provincial Government Act, enacted by the Philippine Commission.
* February 13 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Pampanga through Act No. 85.
* February 16 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Pangasinan through Act No. 86. Towns of Balungao, Rosales, San Quintin and Umingan annexed from Nueva Ecija.
* February 18 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Tarlac through Act No. 87.
* February 27 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Bulacan through Act No. 88. Capital moved to Malolos.
* March 2 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Bataan through Act No. 92.
* March 12 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Tayabas through Act No. 103. Capital moved to Lucena.
* March 16 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Romblon, elevated from Spanish-era status of District, through Act No. 104.
* March 18 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Masbate, elevated from Spanish-era status of District, through Act No. 105.
* April 11 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Iloilo, formed through the merging of the Spanish-era Province of Iloilo with the Comandancia of Concepcion, through Act No. 113.
* April 13 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Antique through Act No. 114.
* April 15 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Capiz through Act No. 115.
* April 18 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Cebu through Act No. 116.
* April 20 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Bohol through Act No. 117.
* April 22 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Leyte through Act No. 121.
* April 26 – Provisions of the Provincial Government Act extended to Albay