A Philippine province's income decides how many lawmakers sit on its board
In the Philippines, how much a province earns shapes its politics. Richer provinces get ten elected members on their provincial board, the poorest get six. Voters even approved a brand-new province in 1986, only for the Supreme Court to erase it months later.
The country has 82 provinces, grouped into 18 regions by geography, culture and language; thirteen regions carry numbers running north to south, while others, such as the Cordillera and Bangsamoro, go by names. Provinces contain component cities and municipalities, but highly urbanised and independent cities, along with Metro Manila's local governments, stand outside any province even when maps show them inside one.
Each province elects a governor for a three-year term, up to three terms in a row, who appoints heads of departments such as engineering, legal affairs and the treasury. The vice governor presides over the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the provincial board. Seats scale with income class, measured by average revenue over the previous four years: first- and second-class provinces get ten regular members, third and fourth get eight, fifth and sixth get six. Populous provinces break the pattern, with Cavite at 16 and Cebu at twelve. Leaders of barangay captains, councillors and the youth council sit ex officio. Courts are separate, run nationally by the Supreme Court.
Provinces supervise their component towns: the governor reviews mayors' executive orders and the board reviews municipal ordinances, though they deal with individual villages only through those towns. Every province is guaranteed at least one seat in the House of Representatives, whatever its population.
Boundaries have shifted often. Mindoro split in two in 1950 and Maguindanao in 2022. Negros del Norte was ratified by plebiscite on 3 January 1986, but on 11 July the Supreme Court voided it, partly because it fell short of the required 3,500 square kilometres. Shariff Kabunsuan, created by the Muslim Mindanao regional assembly in 2006, was likewise struck down in 2008, since only Congress can create the legislative district a new province implies.
Source: Provinces of the Philippines
