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Province of Maguindanao del Norte vs. Bureau of Local Government Finance

PROVINCE OF MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE, REPRESENTED BY ITS GOVERNOR FATIMA AINEE LIMBONA SINSUAT, PETITIONER, VS. BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE, REGIONAL OFFICE NO. XII, REPRESENTED BY ITS ACTING REGIONAL DIRECTOR JUNE ANN C. ABELLA; BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE, CENTRAL OFFICE, REPRESENTED BY OIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MA. PAMELA P. QUIZON; MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, REPRESENTED BY MINISTER NAGUIB G. SINARIMBO, BANGSAMORO AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO, RESPONDENTS.

G.R. No. 265373 | 2023-11-13

D E C I S I O N
 
LAZARO-JAVIER, J.:
 
Antecedents
 
On May 27, 2021, Republic Act No. 11550[1] was signed into law, dividing the province of Maguindanao into two distinct and independent provinces. Under Section 48 thereof, the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur shall be created upon approval by majority of the votes cast by the voters of the affected areas in a plebiscite to be conducted and supervised by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) within 90 days from the effectivity of the law.[2] The COMELEC, however, deferred the plebiscite until after the 2022 National and Local Elections (2022...