Governor of South Cotabato
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Mme./Mr. Governor
(informal) - The Honourable
(formal) - His/Her Excellency
(diplomatic)
| Governor of South Cotabato | |
|---|---|
| Punong Panlalawigan ng Timog Kotabato | |
| Style |
|
| Appointer | Elected via popular vote |
| Term length | 3 years, renewable |
| Constituting instrument | Local Government Code of 1991 |
| Formation | 1967 |
| First holder | Sergio Morales |
| Deputy | Vice-Governor of South Cotabato |
| Website | https://southcotabato.gov.ph/ |
The governor of South Cotabato (Filipino: Punong Panlalawigan ng Timog Cotabato), is the chief executive of the provincial government of South Cotabato.
The official title of the South Cotabato head of state and government is "Governor of South Cotabato." The title in Filipino and other languages of the Philippines, predominantly the Bisayan languages, is Gobernador, from the Spanish language. The title in Tagalog however is Punong Panlalawigan, meaning "Provincial Chief" or "Provincial Head."
History
When South Cotabato was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 4849 or "An Act creating the Province of South Cotabato", the Province officially functioned only after the 1967 Philippine local elections. Sergio Morales, M.D., the Province's inaugural Governor, served throughout the duration of former President Ferdinand Marcos' administration.
During this time, the powers of a Governor were considered insufficient and weak. Under the Local Autonomy Act of 1959 (Republic Act No. 2264) and the Decentralization Act of 1967 (Republic Act No. 5185), Provincial Governments were granted more powers and increased the composition of the Provincial Board. However, they still lacked necessary autonomous powers and the Provinces were considered as an extension of the National Government, rather than its own local authority.
Under former President Marcos' administration, the autonomy of Provinces were greatly increased through the introduction of Batas Pambansa Blg. 51 (or National Law No. 51), which eliminated direct municipal representation in the provincial legislature (previously introduced through Presidential Decree No. 826, s. 1975), introduced a system of indirect "grassroots" representation (which were the President of the provincial association of barangay chairmen and the President of the provincial federation of the Kabataang Barangay), and made the Governor and Vice-Governor ex-officio members of the provincial legislature. In 1983, the Batasang Pambansa passed the Local Government Code of 1983 or Batas Pambansa Blg. 337 (or National Law No. 337). This expanded the powers of the governor, allowing the governor to vote (only to break a tie) in the provincial legislature, to veto any items within a Bill or veto the entirety of an Ordinance or Resolution. However, the veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of all voting Sangguniang Panlalawigan members.
After the People's Power Revolution, there were significant changes. First, the term length of the Governor and other local officials were reduced from 4 years to 3 years in accordance with the 1987 Constitution. Second, in 1991, the Congress passed the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), which removed the Governor as an ex-officio member of the provincial legislature (although the Governor retains the powers granted from the 1983 Code), the Vice-Governor is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature, and the size of the provincial legislature is dependent on its income classification, rather than its population.
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