Tugunan

Tugunan, officially the Municipality of Tugunan (Maguindanaon: Inged nu Tugunan, Jawi:  ; Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Tugunan; Cebuano: Lungsod sa Tugunan; Tagalog: Bayan ng Tugunan), is a municipality in the province of Cotabato, Philippines. The municipality is part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao despite Cotabato being part of Soccsksargen.

Tugunan
Municipality
Municipality of Tugunan
Country	Philippines
Region	Bangsamoro
Province	Cotabato
Founded	April 13, 2024
Government
• Mayor	Abdullah Pungot Abas (OIC)
• Vice Mayor	Suharto Salbo Hashim (OIC)
Area
• Total	102.60 km2 (39.61 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	30,651
• Density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)

History

When the Bangsamoro was created in 2019 to supplant the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 63 barangays in the province of Cotabato were grouped with the newer autonomous region in the second part of the plebiscite held in February 6.^[1] The mother municipalities and Cotabato province remained part of Soccsksargen.^[2]

By March 2020, these barangays were designated as a Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro region.^[3]

On August 17, 2023, the bills consolidating the SGA barangays into 8 municipalities were approved by the Bangsamoro Parliament,^[4] The particular bill creating Tugunan was Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 135.^[5]

A plebiscite was held on April 13, 2024, and voters approved all eight bills reconstituting the SGA barangays to eight municipalities including Tugunan, where 11,501 voted in favor of its creation while 13 voted against. The Bangsamoro regional government will provide P2.5 million in funding for the municipal government until it gets its share of income from the National Tax Allotment.^[6] Tugunan was created from eight barangays of Pikit and a single barangay from Aleosan.^[5]

Geography

Barangays

Tugunan is politically subdivided into nine barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Balong
• Bualan
• Lagunde
• Macabual
• Macasendeg
• Manaulanan
• Pamalian
• Panicupan
• Tapodoc

Government

Officers-in-charge (OIC) was selected by BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim to fill positions in the municipal government pending regular elections in 2025. The municipality remains under the jurisdiction of the Special Geographic Area pending the creation of a new province.^[7][8]

Abdullah Pungot Abas is the OIC mayor of Tugunan since July 9, 2024,^[9]

References

1. Santos, Tina (February 15, 2019). "63 Cotabato barangays now part of BARMM". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
2. Layug, Margaret Claire (February 8, 2019). "What happens to Cotabato barangays not part of new Bangsamoro region?". GMA News (in English and Tagalog). Retrieved May 22, 2019.
3. Fernandez, Edwin (March 21, 2020). "BARMM records 2 Covid-19 deaths, 2 infected". Retrieved June 30, 2020.
4. "BARMM approves creation of 8 new towns". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
5. "Bills creating 8 municipalities in SGA-BARMM approved by BTA Parliament". Luwaran. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
6. Bolledo, Jairo (13 April 2024). "BARMM residents approve creation of 8 more towns". Rappler. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
7. "81% voter turnout on BARMM special geographic area plebiscite". Daily Tribune. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
8. "BARMM eyes new province for eight newly created towns". Rappler. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
9. "CM Ebrahim names OIC local officials in new eight SGA towns - BARMM Official Website". Bangsamoro Information Office. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.