Maguindanao ceases to exist as 2 new provinces rise

WOMEN POWER Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu (left) answers questions from guests during the Oct. 20 “kanduli,” or thanksgiving, after she took the helm of the new province. With her are Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat (center), the former vice governor of the now dissolved Maguindanao province; and Maguindanao del Norte Rep. Sittie Shahara Mastura (right). —Photo from the office of Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu

BULUAN, MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR — Maguindanao province has ceased as a political entity on Thursday as officials of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur took the mantle of leadership of the two new local government units.

Erstwhile Maguindanao chief executive Bai Mariam Mangudadatu assumed as governor of Maguindanao del Sur while then Vice Gov. Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat is now at the helm of Maguindanao del Norte.

Lawyer Cyrus Torreña, who was Maguindanao provincial administrator, said the officials took power by virtue of Republic Act No. 11550, which decreed the split of the province into two political entities.

The law was ratified by a majority of Maguindanao voters during the Sept. 17 plebiscite.

Maguindanao del Norte is Mindanao’s 28th province and the country’s 82nd. It is also the sixth province of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Also assuming their new posts on Thursday were then second district Provincial Board (PB) member Nathaniel Midtimbang as Maguindanao del Sur vice governor, and then first district PB member Sharifudin Mastura as Maguindanao del Norte vice governor.

Thanksgiving

After the formal rites, a kanduli, or thanksgiving, was held at the provincial capitol of Maguindanao del Sur in Buluan town.

Torreña said Gov. Sinsuat, wife of Datu Odin Sinsuat Mayor Lester Sinsuat, will hold office in the town’s Barangay Dalican.

“The municipal government has offered a space to serve as the office of Governor Sinsuat,” Torreña said.

“The transition committee is still choosing department heads for Maguindanao del Norte, including additional employees,” he added.

The new province, he said, will still operate under the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of the original Maguindanao province.

“Maguindanao del Norte will be fully operational by January next year when it will start getting its own IRA from the national government,” Torreña explained.

RA 11550 sets Buluan as the seat of Maguindanao del Sur and Datu Odin Sinsuat of Maguindanao del Norte.

READ: Maguindanao Del Norte, Maguindanao Del Sur officially now provinces