Tolentino: split of Maguindanao would accelerate the development of the smaller Maguindanao provinces

MANILA - Saturday, 17 September 2022, the Maguindanao province held its plebiscite on the division of the province to Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur. The plebiscite was held pursuant to Republic Act No. 11550, which required the consent of the residents of Maguindanao as a condition of the division.

Sen. Francis Tolentino announced in the Senate on Monday, 19 September 2022, the results of the plebiscite, wherein 99.27% of the registered voters of Maguindanao were in favor of the division, constituting 706,651 votes in total.

Tolentino, the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government in the 18th Congress, sponsored the bill that proposed the division of the province of Maguindanao.

According to Tolentino, the division aims to accelerate not only the economic, political, and social development of Maguindanao, but also the efficiency of delivery of government services. As a result, government services would be more accessible and better responsive to the needs of the constituents of the respective provinces.