Malidegao

Malidegao is a newly established municipality in Cotabato province in the southern Philippines. Although Cotabato province itself remains part of the Soccsksargen administrative region, Malidegao is among the municipalities formed from barangays placed under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The municipality was created from seven barangays that previously belonged to the municipality of Pikit. Its institutional history is linked to the political reorganization that followed the creation of BARMM. In the February 2019 plebiscite establishing the new autonomous region, 63 barangays in Cotabato province voted to join BARMM even though their parent municipalities and the province continued to be administered outside the autonomous region. By March 2020, these areas had been organized as BARMM's Special Geographic Area (SGA), pending a longer-term territorial and local-government arrangement. The Bangsamoro Parliament subsequently approved legislation to consolidate the SGA barangays into eight municipalities. The measure establishing Malidegao was Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 134. The settlement was initially proposed under the name Malmar, then referred to as Madridagao before the name Malidegao was adopted. The changes were intended to produce a name more closely associated with the area's cultural and historical identity. A plebiscite held on April 13, 2024, approved the municipality's creation by a vote of 12,255 in favor and 44 against. Malidegao is politically divided into seven barangays, each further organized into puroks and, in some cases, sitios. During the transition period, the municipality remained under the Special Geographic Area while arrangements for local administration, revenue allocation, and the future provincial structure were being developed. The Bangsamoro regional government committed P2.5 million in interim funding for the municipal government. This support was intended to cover the municipality's initial operations until it could receive its share of the National Tax Allotment. Pending regular local elections, the BARMM chief minister appointed officers-in-charge to manage the municipal government. Arnal Malaidan Timan became the municipality's officer-in-charge mayor on July 9, 2024. Malidegao should be understood as a geographic and governmental entity rather than a commercial consumer brand. Its significance lies in the continuing administrative integration of the former SGA barangays into BARMM and in the creation of new municipalities designed to bring local government closer to communities that voted to join the autonomous region.

Malidegao emerged from the territorial and administrative changes associated with the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In the February 2019 plebiscite for the new autonomous region, 63 barangays located in Cotabato province voted to join BARMM. Their parent municipalities and Cotabato province, however, remained within Soccsksargen. This produced a distinctive administrative situation in which geographically separate barangays were attached to the autonomous region while the municipalities from which they had been taken remained outside it. By March 2020, the participating barangays had been organized as BARMM's Special Geographic Area. The SGA was intended as an interim arrangement while the regional government considered how to provide more coherent local administration. One eventual solution was to consolidate the barangays into new municipalities rather than leave them as detached portions of their former municipalities. On August 17, 2023, the Bangsamoro Parliament approved bills creating eight municipalities from the SGA barangays. The legislation for Malidegao was Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 134. The proposed municipality was initially called Malmar, followed by the name Madridagao, before Malidegao was selected. The revisions reflected an effort to use a name regarded as more consistent with the locality's cultural and historical identity. The creation of Malidegao required ratification through a local plebiscite. On April 13, 2024, voters endorsed the proposal by 12,255 votes to 44. The new municipality was formed from seven barangays formerly belonging to Pikit. It was organized as a municipality with seven barangays, each containing puroks and, where applicable, sitios. The municipality's early administration has been transitional. It remained under the jurisdiction of the Special Geographic Area while the new local-government structure and the wider provincial arrangement were being developed. BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim selected officers-in-charge to fill municipal posts pending regular elections, which were expected to provide elected local leadership. Arnal Malaidan Timan became officer-in-charge mayor on July 9, 2024. Because Malidegao is a government locality rather than a private enterprise, it does not have commercial products, brand campaigns, corporate owners, or publicly traded securities. Its initial operating resources include P2.5 million in funding from the Bangsamoro regional government, intended to support municipal operations until the locality receives its allocation from the National Tax Allotment.

• 2024

  Municipal creation ratified by plebiscite

  [1]Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org

  Residents voted overwhelmingly to approve Malidegao's creation, with 12,255 votes in favor and 44 against.

• 2024

  Transitional municipal administration begins

  [1]Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org

  Arnal Malaidan Timan began serving as officer-in-charge mayor on July 9, 2024.

• 2023

  Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 134 approved

  [1]Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org

  The Bangsamoro Parliament approved the act creating Malidegao from seven barangays formerly administered by Pikit.

• 2020

  Special Geographic Area established

  [1]Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org

  The participating Cotabato barangays were designated as BARMM's Special Geographic Area, an interim administrative arrangement.

• 2019

  Cotabato barangays vote to join BARMM

  [1]Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org

  In the February 2019 plebiscite, 63 barangays in Cotabato province voted to become part of the newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

A local-government municipality created through the Bangsamoro territorial reorganization process; not a commercial product or consumer brand.

• 2024

  Interim funding for municipal operationsOther

  Background

  The newly created municipality required operating support before it could receive its regular share of the National Tax Allotment.

  Action taken

  The Bangsamoro regional government committed P2.5 million in funding for Malidegao's municipal government.

  Aftermath

  The funding was intended to support initial administration during the transition to regular local-government financing.

  Interim municipal funding. P2.5 million (2024 transition period)

  Source

• 2023

  Creation of Malidegao as a new municipalityStrategy

  Background

  The Special Geographic Area barangays required a more coherent local-government structure after voting to join BARMM while their former municipalities remained outside the autonomous region.

  Action taken

  The Bangsamoro Parliament approved Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 134, establishing Malidegao from seven former Pikit barangays, subject to plebiscite approval.

  Aftermath

  The proposal was ratified by voters in April 2024 and entered a transitional implementation phase.

  Source

1. 1Malidegaoen.wikipedia.org