Filed
First Reading
Second Reading — Committee
Second Reading — Plenary
Third Reading
Approved
EnactedNow
Parliament Bill No. 136
ApprovedCabinet measureAn Act Creating the Municipality of Ligawasan, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes
Creates the Municipality of Ligawasan.
Filed
First Reading
Second Reading — Committee
Second Reading — Plenary
Third Reading
Approved
EnactedNow
Passed third reading. This measure has cleared Parliament.
What this measure does
This is the cabinet bill that became Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 48. It proposes a new municipality, Ligawasan, built from seven barangays of Pikit, North Cotabato — Bagoinged, Barungis, Bulol, Buliok, Gli-Gli, Kabasalan, and Rajamuda — all of which voted in the 2019 plebiscite to join the Bangsamoro and now sit in the region's Special Geographic Areas.
The bill separates those barangays from Pikit and constitutes them as a distinct municipality, with its seat of government at Barangay Bagoinged and a boundary following the existing barangay lines. Annexed tables give the detail: about 112 square kilometers, roughly 29,800 residents, and combined annual income of about ₱31.6 million as of 2020.
The municipality would come into existence only after a plebiscite held within 60 days of approval, conducted by the Commission on Elections through the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, and only if a majority of votes cast approve. Until an election, the first mayor, vice-mayor, and council would be appointed.
Because a new municipality gets no share of national revenue immediately, the bill commits the Bangsamoro Government to provide financial assistance of not less than ₱2,500,000 every month for the new local government's administration and operation, until its revenue share is allocated.
Why it was proposed
The seven barangays voted in 2019 to move from North Cotabato into the Bangsamoro but remained administratively attached to Pikit, a municipality outside the region. The bill invokes the Bangsamoro Government's power to create and alter municipalities and gives those barangays a local government inside the region they voted to join.
Who it affects
- Roughly 29,800 residents of the seven barangays, across about 112 square kilometers.
- The Municipality of Pikit, North Cotabato, which would lose the seven barangays.
- Elected officials of Pikit residing in those barangays, whose positions the bill addresses.
- The Bangsamoro Government, which would carry at least ₱2.5 million a month until national revenue sharing begins.
Who would implement it
- Commission on Elections, through the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, which would conduct and supervise the plebiscite
- The Bangsamoro Government, which would appropriate the monthly assistance
- Appointed first municipal officials, pending an election
Funding
Carries an appropriation. Not less than ₱2,500,000 per month from the Bangsamoro Government until the new municipality is allocated its share of national revenue. Plebiscite expenses are to be taken from available COMELEC funds under its current appropriation.
What changes if it becomes law
- Seven barangays leave Pikit and form a municipality, subject to the plebiscite.
- A new local government is stood up at Bagoinged, appointed at first.
- The Bangsamoro Government takes on a monthly financial commitment with a stated floor.
- The region's Special Geographic Areas gain a municipality of their own.
Raised during deliberations
No published record of the debate on this measure. Parliament’s journals cover sittings up to March 2023 only, and no committee report on it has been published.
What to notice
This bill is worth comparing with the act it became. The ₱2.5 million monthly floor written here does not survive into Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 48, which promises monthly assistance without naming an amount. If you want to know what a new municipality in the Special Geographic Areas is actually guaranteed, the answer is in the act, not in this bill — and it is less specific than what was filed.
How to take part
Submit a position paper via the Parliament's Call for Position Papers page, or attend/watch the responsible committee's public hearings.
Sources