SEN. Robin Padilla has filed a bill seeking to create a new province in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to ensure that residents of the “orphaned” baranagays which opted to join the region in 2019 can vote.
Padilla said Senate Bill No. 2875 aims to create the Special Geographic Areas (SGA) to be known as Kutawato province which will include the 63 barangays in the municipalities of Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pigcawayan, Pikit, and Aleosan in the province of Cotabato which vote to become part of BARMM during the plebiscite held on February 6, 2019.
Under the bill, the proposed Kutawato province shall consist of the towns of Pahammudin, Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao, Tugunan, and Ligawasan.
Pahammudin shall be the province’s capital town.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia earlier said that voters in the 63 barangays could not vote because they currently do not belong to any province.
Padilla aired concerns that the situation of the voters in the eight towns violate their constitutional right to suffrage, as outlined in Section 1, Article V of the 1987 Constitution.
“To address this serious concern, this bill thus proposes to create an SGA under the BARMM to be known as the Kutawato province, to be composed of the eight (8) abovementioned municipalities with Pahamuddin as its proposed capital. It outlines the powers and functions of the provincial government, including, but not limited to, revenue generation, taxation, land use regulations, consistent with the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991,” Padilla said in his bill.
“To facilitate the swift development of these newly established municipalities within the SGA and to ensure the provision of essential services to their constituents, it is essential to establish a province that will oversee and support these localities. The creation of Kutawato province also aims to streamline the delivery of basic services and facilities and enhance local government operations within these areas,” he added.
Padilla said the bill also aims to safeguard against the disenfranchisement of residents “by ensuring their access to adequate and effective government services.”
