TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang is seeking the creation of an additional barangay in the city to be known as barangay Nambaran East following the sustained growth in population because of its inclusion as part of the component city of Tabuk.
House Bill (HB) 2010 seeks to separate the sitios of Ileb, New Colayo Village, Kinama and Nambaran Daya from barangay Nambaran in the city and constituting them into a separate and independent barangay to be known as Barangay Nambaran East.
Under the proposed bill, the territorial boundaries of Barangay Nambaran East shall be bounded on the east by the municipality of Rizal, on the south by barangay Lacnog, on the west by barangay Nambaran and on the northwest by barangay Dilag.
Pursuant to Section 10 of Republic Act (RA) 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of the Philippines, the new barangay Nambaran East shall exist upon the approval by a majority of the votes cast by the qualified voters of barangay Nambaran in a plebiscite to be conducted and supervised by the Commission on Election in the area affected not later than 120 days from the effectivity of the Act.
Mangaoang proposed that the amount necessary for the conduct of the said plebiscite shall be borne by the city government of Tabuk.
He claimed that the first set of officials of barangay Nambaran East shall be appointed by the provincial governor and shall hold office until such time that their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified.
Moreover, all public infrastructure and facilities existing in the barangay at the time of the approval of the law will be transferred without cost or compensation to and shall be administered by the new barangay.
The proposed measure provided that barangay Nambaran East shall be entitled to internal revenue allotment (IRA) shares pursuant to Section 285 of RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 as amended.
Congressman Mangaoang stipulated that with this bill, it is highly expected that new barangay Nambaran East will not be encumbered by lack of funds, thereby, enabling them to chart their own course for socio-economic development.
Barangay Nambaran is one of the largest of the city’s 43 barangays where its 4 sitios are populated by the Sumadel, Butbut and Tulgao, all belonging to the Tinglayan tribe and natives of Colayo of the Pasil tribe.
According to him, the 4 sitios are adjacent to each other and far from the center of the barangay and they are always the least priority in the implementation of development projects and the delivery of basic services.
Since its settling, the lawmaker stipulated that the residents of the 4 sitios believe that they have been allegedly overlooked and neglected by both the local and the national government.
He asserted that the proposed new regrouping would allow the tribal community to use their own internal revenue allotment to chart their own course in a way that is beneficial to the whole barangay.
Should the combined population of the 4 sitios is less than the population requirement, the provision under Book 3, paragraph 2, Section 386 of the 1991 Local Government Code exempts them from the same since the area is inhabited by indigenous cultural groups.