What region is philippines in?

In the Philippines, regions (Filipino: rehiyon; ISO 3166-2:PH) are administrative divisions that primarily serve to coordinate planning and organize national government services across multiple local government units (LGUs). Most national government offices provide services through their regional branches instead of having direct provincial or city offices. Regional offices are usually but not necessarily located in the city designated as the regional center.

As of 2019, the Philippines is divided into 17 regions. 16 of these are mere administrative groupings, each provided by the president of the Philippines with a regional development council (RDC) – in the case of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), an additional metropolitan authority serves as the coordinating and policy-making body. Only one, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has an elected government and parliament to which the Congress of the Philippines has delegated certain powers and responsibilities.

Regions first came to existence on September 24, 1972, when the provinces of the Philippines were organized into eleven regions under Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganization Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos. Since that time, other regions have been created and some provinces have been transferred from one region to another.

As of June 30, 2019, the Philippines is divided into 17 regions. The traditional island groups of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao are composed of eight (Regions I, II, III, IV-A, and V, and CAR, NCR, and Mimaropa), three (VI, VII, and VIII), and six (IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, and BARMM) regions, respectively. The names of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Soccsksargen are acronyms signifying their component provinces and cities; and are usually capitalized in official government documents.

An administrative region is a grouping of geographically adjacent LGUs that may be established, disestablished, and modified by the President of the Philippines based on the need to formulate coherent economic development policies, more efficiently provide national government services, and coordinate activities beneficial to the development of larger area beyond the province level. No plebiscites have been conducted so far to democratically confirm the creation, abolition or alteration of the boundaries of regular administrative regions, as the Constitution does not mandate it.

An administrative region is not a local government unit (LGU), but rather a group of LGUs to which the President has provided an unelected policy-making and coordinating structure, called the Regional Development Council (RDC). Metro Manila is recognized in law as a "special development and administrative region", and was thus given the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA); the Metro Manila Council within the MMDA serves as the National Capital Region's RDC.

The 1987 Constitution allows for the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordillera Central of Luzon and the Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao. However, only the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and its predecessor, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, have been approved by voters in plebiscites held in 1989, 2001, and 2019. Voters in the Cordilleras rejected autonomy in 1990 and 1998; hence the Cordillera Administrative Region remains as a regular administrative region with no delegated powers or responsibilities.

The Supreme Court has ruled that an autonomous region established by statute must be composed of more than one province, thereby invalidating the proposed establishment of the Autonomous Region of Ifugao following the results of the original 1990 Cordillera autonomy plebiscite, which saw only Ifugao's voters casting a majority 'yes' vote towards autonomy.

As far as the judiciary is concerned, specifically the first and second level courts, the country is divided into judicial regions as provided by Batas Pambansa Bilang 129. The coverage of these judicial regions generally coincides with that of the administrative regions in 1980, with some exceptions.

Representation for the Interim Batasang Pambansa was mostly through parliamentary districts based on how regions were organized in 1978. Metro Manila was "Region IV", while Southern Tagalog was "Region IV-A". This was the only time the national legislature was represented via regions; in a 1984 plebiscite, voters approved a constitutional amendment that reverted to representation per province and city.

The following are regions that no longer exist, listed along with their current status:

Philippines, island country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean.

Whenever one thinks about the beauty of the Philippines, what usually comes to mind are secluded islands where you can dip your toes into some of the best beaches there is in the world.

For those in the business and who are looking for jobs, perhaps you also know about the city of Manila (popularly known as Metro Manila), Quezon City, and other popular cities in Luzon. However, this archipelagic country might surprise you since it has tons of places where you can go despite its small land area.

But before we proceed with the discussion, allow me to give you a quick trivia: did you know that the concept of regions only came into existence in 1972? Thanks to President Ferdinand Marcos, he signed the presidential decree that stipulates divided the entire country. Back then, the regions were only 11, each with its own regional center.

The following year, the country was further divided into 12 since Region IV was divided into two: CALABARZON and MIMAROPA. In 1978, Metropolitan Manila was rebranded as the National Capital Region. During the presidency of President Corazon Aquino, an executive order was signed to create the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (or ARMM).

From 2002 to 2018, all the presidents amended the regional designation to the point that our latest count reached up to 17 regions. Let’s get to know more about that below.

The country has three major island groups known as Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Luzon has 8 regions under its belt, while the Visayas has 3 and the Mindanao has 6. Presently, two types of regions exist in the Philippines, including the administrative region (geographically adjacent regions) and the autonomous region (sub-national administrative division).

Region I is one of the many administrative regions in the country, occupying a huge chunk of the northwestern part of Luzon. It is directly facing the South China Sea, and it has four major provinces, including the following:

Found in the coastal part of Luzon, the Cagayan Valley region covers five provinces, including the following:

The Central Luzon region represents over 19% of the overall population in all of Luzon. It has 116 municipalities, and it includes these seven provinces:

Also known as the Metropolitan Manila, the NCR is branded as the seat of the government. It is made up of 16 populous cities, including Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Las Pinas, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Navotas, Pasa, Pasig, Paranaque, San Juan, Venezuela, and Taguig.

Boasting almost 4ooo barangays (or districts), this region has 5 provinces, including 1 highly urbanized city:

With 71 municipalities and 2 major cities, the MIMAROPA region includes the following:

An administrative region with over 107 municipalities and 3.4k barangays, the Bicol region has 6 major provinces including:

With 117 municipalities and 16 cities under its belt, this region is the home to 6 provinces, including:

Situated in the central section of Visayas Island, this region is the cradle of four provinces, including:

This region has 136 municipalities along with 7 major cities. It is the home to six provinces, including:

This coastal region with 1.9k barangays is also the home to three provinces such as:

With 84 municipalities and over 2000 barangays, Northern Mindanao covers five provinces including:

Bordered by the Philippine Sea and the Davao Gulf, the Davao region has 5 major provinces including:

With over 45 municipalities and 5 cities, this region is situated in central Mindanao and has four provinces:

This region has 67 municipalities and 5 major provinces including the following:

The CAR boasts 2 cities, 75 municipalities, and 6 provinces, including:

Directly in front of the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, the BARMM is the home to five provinces, including:

I know what you’re thinking! Perhaps, you landed on this page because you’re curious to know if the Philippines actually have 18 or 17 regions. Well, here’s the direct answer: Officially, the country only has 17. However, the latest news suggests that the 18th region, known as NIR, might be re-established this 2023.

The Negros Island Region is comprised of two provinces, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, both of which offer unique experiences to locals and tourists alike. The Negros Island Region was first created by virtue of Executive Order No. 183, which former President Benigno Aquino III signed on May 29, 2015. The order aimed to consolidate the two provinces into a single region to promote development and improve access to government services in the area.

However, the Negros Island Region was short-lived, as it was dissolved just two years later due to the opposition of various stakeholders who believed that the creation of the region was unnecessary and would only result in the duplication of government functions and bureaucracy. Despite its brief existence, the Negros Island Region remains an important cultural and economic hub in the Visayas. It boasts a rich history, stunning natural landscapes, and diverse cultural traditions that make it a must-visit destination for anyone exploring the Philippines.

According to the census of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Republic of the Philippines population is on the rise. The 5 most populous provinces include Cebu (from Western Visayas), with almost 5.2 million people, followed by Cavite (Region IV-A), with 4.5 million, and Bulacan (Central Luzon), with 3.7 million. Laguna (Region IV-A) with 3.38 million, and Rizal (Region IV-A) with 3.3 million.

Perhaps by now, you are also pondering the question, “What are places in the country that has a small population?” To answer your question, the small provinces of Siquijor, Camiguin, and Dinagat Islands remain the smallest population ever.

We hope that you were able to learn about the different provinces located in the Philippines. While the whole country looks small on the maps, perhaps you found yourself surprised to know that there are 17 regions in it. If you enjoyed this post and figured that you would love to learn more about the regions of the Philippines, its culture, and its language, then you better check out our previous posts here.

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