Shariff Kabunsuan was a short-lived
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
within the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that existed from 2006 to 2008. Its designated seat of government was
Datu Odin Sinsuat
Datu Odin Sinsuat, officially the Municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Datu Odin Sinsuat''; Iranun: ''Inged a Datu Odin Sinsuat''; tl, Bayan ng Datu Odin Sinsuat), is a municipality and capital of the province of Maguind ...
.
Initially comprising ten municipalities carved out of
Maguindanao
Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 ...
, Shariff Kabunsuan was created by virtue of ''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201''; this law was
nullified by the
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on J ...
in 2008, thus disestablishing the province.
History
Shariff Kabunsuan was established under ''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201'' which provided for the creation of the new province comprising the nine municipalities of
Barira
Barira, officially the Municipality of Barira ( Maguindanaon: ''Ingud nu Barira''; Iranun: ''Inged a Barira''; tl, Bayan ng Barira), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...
,
Buldon
Buldon, officially the Municipality of Buldon ( Maguindanaon: ''Ingud nu Buldon''; Iranun: ''Inged a Buldon''; tl, Bayan ng Buldon), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
,
Datu Odin Sinsuat
Datu Odin Sinsuat, officially the Municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Datu Odin Sinsuat''; Iranun: ''Inged a Datu Odin Sinsuat''; tl, Bayan ng Datu Odin Sinsuat), is a municipality and capital of the province of Maguind ...
,
Kabuntalan
Kabuntalan, officially the Municipality of Kabuntalan ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Kabuntalan''; Iranun: ''Inged a Kabuntalan''; tl, Bayan ng Kabuntalan), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines. According ...
,
Matanog,
Parang,
Sultan Kudarat,
Sultan Mastura
Sultan Mastura, officially the Municipality of Sultan Mastura ( Maguindanaon: ''Ingud nu Sultan Mastura''; Iranun: ''Inged a Sultan Mastura''; tl, Bayan ng Sultan Mastura), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Norte, Phi ...
, and
Upi, all of the
first legislative district of the mother province of
Maguindanao
Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 ...
.
A tenth municipality,
Datu Blah T. Sinsuat
Datu Blah T. Sinsuat, officially the Municipality of Datu Blah T. Sinsuat ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Datu Blah T. Sinsuat''; Iranun: ''Inged a Datu Blah T. Sinsuat''; tl, Bayan ng Datu Blah T. Sinsuat), is a municipality in the province of M ...
, was created within the proposed province on 16 September 2006,
weeks prior to the actual plebiscite for the creation of the province.
The plebiscite for the creation of the province was held on 28 October 2006.
''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201'' was ratified by the affirmative majority (285,372) votes cast in a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
, thus establishing the province.
Only 8,802 voted for its rejection.
The law establishing Shariff Kabunsuan was enacted by the
Regional Assembly for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the first such province established by that local body, which had been so empowered under ''
Republic Act No. 9054'' or the ''Expanded ARMM'' law. Shariff Kabunsuan was the first province since Philippine independence that was not established through an
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...
.
At the time of its creation, Shariff Kabunsuan was the Philippines' 80th province and the sixth in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The province was named after
Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan, an Arab-Malay Islamic preacher who introduced
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
to central
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
in the 16th century.
An eleventh municipality was established two months after: the creation of
Northern Kabuntalan
Northern Kabuntalan, officially the Municipality of Northern Kabuntalan ( Maguindanaon: ''Ingud nu Northern Kabuntalan''; Iranun: ''Inged a Northern Kabuntalan''; tl, Bayan ng Northern Kabuntalan), is a 5th class municipality in the province o ...
by virtue of ''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 205''
was affirmed in a plebiscite held on 30 December 2006.
Datu Odin Sinsuat
Datu Odin Sinsuat, officially the Municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Datu Odin Sinsuat''; Iranun: ''Inged a Datu Odin Sinsuat''; tl, Bayan ng Datu Odin Sinsuat), is a municipality and capital of the province of Maguind ...
was designated the capital of the new province, per Section 1 of ''MMA Act 201''.
Cotabato City, which is an
independent city that does not vote for provincial officials, belongs to neither Maguindanao nor Shariff Kabunsuan. However, for the purposes of congressional representation the said city was grouped with Shariff Kabunsuan, as per Section 5 of ''MMA Act No. 201''.
This specific provision became the subject of the
Supreme Court case that led to the disestablishment of the province.
Supreme Court case
On 17 July 2008, the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, in ''
Sema v. Comelec'' declared the creation of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan
void and ruled that the power of ARMM's legislature to create provinces and cities is
unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court in particular held that only the
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ...
was empowered to create provinces and cities because the creation of such necessarily included the power to create
legislative districts
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
, which explicitly under the
Philippine Constitution was within the sole prerogative of Congress to establish. Consequently, the Court also declared the power of the Regional Assembly to create provinces and cities within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as unconstitutional.
Despite a
motion for reconsideration In parliamentary procedure, reconsideration of a motion (or reconsideration of a question) may be done on a matter previously decided. The motion to "reconsider" is used for this purpose. This motion originated in the United States and is general ...
filed by ARMM officials, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its ruling in January 2009, thereby rendering its decision as final.
Administrative divisions
Shariff Kabunsuan was composed of 11
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
distributed between two
Sangguniang Panlalawigan districts:
See also
* ''
Sema v. COMELEC and Dilangalen
''Sema v. COMELEC and Dilangalen'' (G.R. No. 177597) is a court case that was ruled on by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on 16 July 2008. It was consolidated with ''Marquez v. COMELEC'' (G.R. No. 178628). It held that the Regional Assembly ...
''
*
Maguindanao del Norte creation plebiscite
References
External links
Official Website of the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan(defunct)
{{Philippines former provinces and cities
Former provinces of the Philippines
States and territories disestablished in 2008
2006 establishments in the Philippines
2008 disestablishments in the Philippines
History of Maguindanao