8 new Bangsamoro towns rising in Cotabato province

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Stakeholders are anticipating a boom in commerce and trade in Cotabato province with the creation of eight new Bangsamoro municipalities in the area via enabling measures approved by a regional law-making body Thursday.

Cotabato province is under Administrative Region 12 but has 63 predominantly Moro barangays in its towns that got fused with the core territory of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao via a plebiscite in early 2019.

Two members of the 80-seat BARMM parliament, the physician Kadil Sinolinding Jr. and Kellie Antao, who hails from Cotabato’s Kabacan and Libungan towns, respectively, separately confirmed Saturday the enactment last Thursday of the separate bills needed in creating the eight municipalities out of the 63 Bangsamoro barangays in the province.

The ophthalmologist Sinolinding said he is certain that BARMM’s health ministry will focus on immediately providing with medical facilities the eight Bangsamoro municipalities, to be named Pahamuddin, Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao, Tugunan, and Ligawasan.

“It will boost the economy of Cotabato province,” said Mansur Pasawilan, a large-scale rice and corn grains trader operating in Cotabato's Midsayap and Aleosan towns, referring to the creation of the eight towns. 

A merchant-politician, Mayor Rolly Sacdalan of Midsayap, Cotabato, said they are for the creation of the 8 Bangsamoro towns in the province, some to emerge near the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, proven to have vast untapped deposits of natural gas, touted as the largest in Asia.

Sacdalan said seven Bangsamoro barangays in Midsayap, Central Labas, Kapinpilan, Malingao, Mudseng, Sambulawan, Tugal, and Tumbras, are to be grouped together as Kadayangan municipality.

“At least two of these eight municipalities, the Old Kaabacan and Kapalawan, which are both near us, shall have public markets where our constituent-traders and entrepreneurs can do trading activities,” said Vice Mayor Ralph Ryan Rafael of Matalam, Cotabato.

Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza said Saturday she will support the creation of the eight Bangsamoro towns in her province.

“It will have a good effect on our province. The connectivity of the residents of these Bangsamoro municipalities and their relatives in municipalities under the Cotabato provincial government shall always be there,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza is also certain of what is for her “positive impact” of the creation of the eight Bangsamoro towns to the investment climate in her province.

Mendoza said seven barangays in her hometown Carmen --- Kibayao, Kitulaan, Langogan, Manarapan, Nasapian, Pebpoloan and Tupig --- shall comprise the Bangsamoro Kapalawan municipality.

“Even before the bills for the creation of these eight towns were passed on Thursday, the office of BARMM Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo already constructed barangay halls in some of  the barangays there. Certainly they will soon construct town halls and public markets there,” Mendoza, a supporter of the joint peace efforts of Malacañang and the BARMM leadership, said.