Legal basis and administrative authority
- The reorganization is issued pursuant to Section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code.
- The arrangement is based on a recommendation from the Provincial Board of Cotabato, with concurrence by the Secretary of the Interior.
- The Order also recognizes the existence of earlier municipal establishment rules under Section forty of the Administrative Code and Executive Order No. 66, series of 1936.
Purpose and municipal restructuring outcome
- Executive Order No. 82 reorganizes the municipal districts in the Province of Cotabato into ten independent municipalities, except for three municipal districts.
- Executive Order No. 82 annexes the municipal districts of Gambar, Kalanganan, and Tumbao to the municipality of Cotabato.
- Executive Order No. 82 increases the municipalities in the Province of Cotabato from three to thirteen.
- The municipalities created by Executive Order No. 82 are established with defined territorial descriptions and seats of government.
Scope: covered territories and exclusions
- Executive Order No. 82 covers all municipal districts in the Province of Cotabato, except the municipal districts of Gambar, Kalanganan, and Tumbao.
- The Order includes the unexplored areas in the reorganization process for the municipalities to be created.
- The Order includes certain barrios or sitios of the municipality of Dulawan, specifically inclusion of certain barrios or sitios of Dulawan in the territories organized into new municipalities.
- The municipal districts of Gambar, Kalanganan, and Tumbao are excluded from the ten-municipality formation and are instead annexed to the municipality of Cotabato.
- Executive Order No. 82 expressly allocates territorial boundaries for each resulting municipality, using specified rivers, highways, lakes, mountain ranges, and junction points.
Ten new municipalities and their seats
- The ten independent municipalities created by Executive Order No. 82 are named Pagalungan, Parang, Nuling, Kiamba, Buluan, Kidapawan, Kabakan, Koronadal, Buayan, and Dinaig.
- The seats of government are set as follows: Pagalungan; Parang; Nuling (km. 12-13); Kiamba; Buluan; Kidapawan; Kabakan; Marbel; DadiaAgas; and Upi (each corresponding to the municipality names listed in the Order).
- Executive Order No. 82 establishes detailed territorial compositions for each municipality by enumerating which municipal districts (and sometimes specific barrios/sitios or unexplored tips) form each municipality.
- Executive Order No. 82 provides boundary descriptions for multiple municipalities by reference to named natural features and roads.
Territorial compositions: municipalities created
- Pagalungan consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Pikit-Pagalungan, Silik, and Balatikan.
- The boundary of Pagalungan in the Kabakan area begins from the northeast corner of the municipal district of Pikit-Pagalungan, follows a straight line northwesterly, crossing the National highway and the Pulangi River to the junction of the Maridagao and Malitubog Rivers.
- Parang consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Parang, Bugasan, Buldun and Basira, and the island of Bongo.
- Nuling consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Nuling, GubpaAgan and Balut.
- Kiamba consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Kiamba, Kling and Lebak.
- Buluan consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Buluan and Liguasan, plus the barrios or sitios of Lambayong and Barurao of the municipality of Dulawan.
- The boundary between Buluan and Dulawan begins from Butilen, follows the crest of the Reina Regente mountain Range to Pidsandawan along the Dansalan River, follows the Dansalan River to Sapakan, then follows the Alah River to a point at Kapingkong, then runs straight line eastward from Kapingkong, passing through San Felipe and crossing the National highway to the unexplored territory of Malasila where it intersects the Cotabato-Davao boundary on the east.
- Kidapawan consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Kidapawan, plus the unexplored region north of this municipal district to the boundary of Davao province on the east and Bukidnon province on the north, and Pulangi River on the west, and Mlang which is at present a part of the municipal district of Buluan.
- The boundary between Kidapawan and Kabakan begins from the northeast corner of the municipal district of Liguasan direct to Km. 105 on the Cotabato-Davao road, then follows a straight line to where the old boundaries of the municipal districts of Kabakan and Kidapawan meet in the north along the Pulangi River.
- Kabakan consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Kabakan, Carmen, Kitubud, and Banisilan.
- Koronadal consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Koronadal and Sebu, together with the southern tip of the unexplored territory of Malasila that has not been included in Buluan.
- Buayan consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Buayan and Glan.
- Dinaig consists of the territory in the municipal districts of Dinaig, Awang, and Salaman.
Existing municipality: Cotabato and Dulawan boundaries
- Cotabato consists of its present territory plus the territory in the municipal districts of Kalanganan, Tumbao and Gambar.
- Cotabato is bounded as follows: on the north by the Rio Grande River and Libungan River and the Labas Lake; on the east by the municipalities of Dulawan and Midsayap; on the south by the Tamontaka River and the Butiren River to its headwaters at Talayan; and on the west by Illana Bay.
- Dulawan consists of its present territory minus the barrios or sitios of Lambayong and Barurao.
Implementation mechanics and operative consequence
- The municipal reorganization is accomplished by the organizational creation of ten independent municipalities and the annexation of three municipal districts to the municipality of Cotabato.
- The Order establishes municipal territory through specific territorial descriptions and boundary lines using named geographic references.
- The Order does not prescribe any administrative filings, hearings, or additional approvals beyond the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior at issuance.
- The legal effect is immediate upon August 18, 1947, without a separate implementation deadline stated.
Separability and repealing provisions
- Executive Order No. 82 does not contain a separability clause.
- Executive Order No. 82 does not contain an express repealing clause or sunset provision.