A municipality is a

local government unit In the Philippines, local government is divided into three levels: provinces and independent cities, component cities and municipalities, and barangays, all of which are collectively known as local government units (LGUs). In some areas, abo ...

(LGU) in the

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 ...

. It is distinct from ''city'', which is a different category of local government unit.

Provinces of the Philippines In the Philippines, provinces ( or ) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into Cities of the Philippines, co ...

are divided into

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and municipalities, which in turn, are divided into

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 (formerly

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s). , there are 1,493 municipalities across the country. A municipality is the official term for, and the official local equivalent of, a ''

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

'', the latter being its archaic term and in all of its literal local translations including Filipino. Both terms are interchangeable. A municipal district is a now-defunct local government unit; previously certain areas were created first as municipal districts before they were converted into municipalities.

History

The era of the formation of municipalities in the Philippines started during the Spanish rule, in which the colonial government founded hundreds of towns and villages across the archipelago modeled after towns and villages in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. They were then grouped together along with a centralized town center called ''cabecera'' or ''

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 ...

'' where the

ayuntamiento ''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain: * (). * (). * (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin America, for the municipality itself. is mai ...

, or town hall, was located; the poblacion served as the nucleus of each municipality. Only the communities that were permanently settled under the reduccion system, and have fully Christianized, are allowed to form municipalities, while others that have not yet been fully converted are to be subdued until conditions permitted for them to be incorporated as municipalities. As time passed, municipalities were created out of already existing ones, leading to them becoming smaller in area over time. Each municipality was governed by a ''capitan'', usually a member of native principalia of the town, who have the task of remitting revenues to the central government in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Ever since its inception to the present day, the term "municipality" holds the same definition as "town" when the first towns grew in size under the Spanish ''pueblo'' system (''pueblo'' meaning "town" in Spanish language) to be granted municipal charters, hence the current official term for such type of settlements. During the American administration, the municipal system put in place by the preceding Spanish authorities was preserved and at the same time reformed with greater inclusiveness among all Filipinos. Municipal districts, which were in essence unincorporated areas presided over by local tribal chiefs set up by American authorities, were created for the first time in 1914. More municipalities were created during this time, especially in Mindanao where there was a massive influx of settlers from the Luzon and the Visayas. After a while the independent Republic of the Philippines was declared in 1946, all municipal districts were dissolved and were absorbed into or broken into municipalities. The latest guidelines in the creation of new municipalities were introduced in 1991 with the issuance of the Local Government Code.

Responsibilities and powers

Municipalities have some autonomy from the National Government of the Republic of the Philippines under the ''

Local Government Code Codification of laws is a common practice in the Philippines. Many general areas of substantive law, such as criminal law, civil law and labor law are governed by codes of law. Tradition Codification is predominant in countries that adher ...

of 1991''. They have been granted corporate personality enabling them to enact local policies and laws, enforce them, and govern their jurisdictions. They can enter into contracts and other transactions through their elected and appointed officials and can tax. They are tasked with enforcing all laws, whether local or national. The National Government assists and supervises the local government to make sure that they do not violate national law. Local Governments have their own executive and legislative branches and the checks and balances between these two major branches, along with their separation, are more pronounced than that of the national government. The Judicial Branch of the Republic of the Philippines also caters to the needs of local government units. Local governments, such as a municipalities, do not have their own judicial branch: their judiciary is the same as that of the national government.

Organization

According to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of ''Republic Act 7160'' or the ''Local Government Code of 1991'', a municipality shall mainly have a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(''alkalde''), a

vice mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

(''ikalawang alkalde''/''bise alkalde'') and members (''kagawad'') of the legislative branch

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Go ...

alongside a secretary to the said legislature. The following positions are also required for all municipalities across the Philippines: * Treasurer * Assessor * Accountant * Budget Officer * Planning and Development Coordinator * Engineer/Building Official * Health Officer * Civil Registrar * Municipal Disaster Risks Reduction and Management Officer Depending on the need to do so, the municipal mayor may also appoint the following municipal positions: * Administrator * Legal Officer * Agriculturist * Architect * Information Officer * Tourism Officer * Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer * Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer

Duties and functions

As mentioned in Title II, Book III of Republic Act 7160, the municipal mayor is the chief

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the municipal government and shall determine guidelines on local policies and direct formulation of development plans. These responsibilities shall be under approval of the Sangguniang Bayan. The

(''bise-alkalde'') shall sign all warrants drawn on the municipal treasury. Being presiding officer of the

( English: Municipal Council), he can as well appoint members of the municipal legislature except its twelve (12) regular members or ''kagawad'' who are also elected every

local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

alongside the municipal mayor and vice mayor. In circumstances where the mayor permanently or temporarily vacates the position, he shall assume executive duties and functions. While the vice mayor presides over the legislature, she or he cannot vote unless the necessity of tie-breaking arises. Laws or ordinances proposed by the Sangguniang Bayan, however, may be approved or vetoed by the mayor. If approved, they become local ordinances. If the mayor neither vetoes nor approves the proposal of the Sangguniang Bayan for ten (10) days from the time of receipt, the proposal becomes law as if it had been signed. If vetoed, the draft is sent back to the Sangguniang Bayan. The latter may override the mayor by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all its members, in which case, the proposal becomes law. A municipality, upon reaching certain requirements (such as minimum population size, and minimum annual revenue) may opt to become a city. First, a bill must be passed in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, then signed into law by the

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 ...

and then the residents would vote in the resulting

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

to accept or reject cityhood. One benefit in being a city is that the city government gets more budget, but

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

are much higher than in municipalities.

Income classification

Republic Act (RA) No. 11964, otherwise known as the “Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act”, was signed by the Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on October 26, 2023. The law classifies municipalities into five (5) classes, according to their income ranges, based on the average annual regular income for three fiscal years preceding a general income reclassification. The classifications are as follows:

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalities Of The Philippines Subdivisions of the Philippines Philippines 2 Municipalities, Philippines