Barira, officially the Municipality of Barira (Maguindanaon: Inged nu Barira; Iranun and Mëranaw: Inged a Barira; Tagalog:Bayan ng Barira), is a municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,143 people.

History

Establishment

Barira was established through Presidential Decree No. 1188, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on August 29, 1977, when ten barangays, two of them partially, and 45 sitios of Buldon were separated. The seat of government was designated at Sitio Pedtad, Barangay Lipawan.

The Economic Development Corporation, which was established in 1951 by President Ramon Magsaysay, opened in Barira a resettlement area for former Huk members. It was administered first by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) until being turned over to the Department of Agrarian Reform in 1972.

Barira is among the municipalities inhabited mainly by the Iranun people, along with Buldon and Matanog; and while the municipality is where Camp Abubakar, the main headquarters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is situated, much parts of the other two had also constituted the camp since the 1980s. The local government units had held office either in Cotabato City or in Parang since the Marcos presidency; a municipal building was constructed by early 2000s.

2000 battles and the fall of Camp Abubakar

Barira was the site of the last of the series of battles that led to the camp's fall on July 9, 2000, ending almost five months of military offensives in the central Mindanao area. On July 1, AFP launched Operation Terminal Velocity, leading to the capture of a number of rebel facilities within the Abubakar complex, with 12 counter-insurgents and 23 MILF fighters reportedly killed.

Post-battle

The town was part of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan from October 2006 until its nullification by the Supreme Court in July 2008.

Geography

Barangays

Barira is politically subdivided into 14 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

  • Barira (Poblacion)
  • Bualan
  • Gadung
  • Korosoyan
  • Lamin
  • Liong
  • Lipa
  • Lipawan
  • Marang
  • Nabalawag
  • Panggao
  • Rominimbang
  • Togaig
  • Minabay

Climate

Climate data for Barira, Maguindanao del Norte
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)28 (82)28 (82)29 (84)29 (84)27 (81)26 (79)26 (79)26 (79)27 (81)26 (79)27 (81)27 (81)27 (81)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)19 (66)19 (66)19 (66)20 (68)21 (70)20 (68)20 (68)20 (68)20 (68)20 (68)20 (68)19 (66)20 (68)
Average precipitation mm (inches)53 (2.1)44 (1.7)41 (1.6)39 (1.5)69 (2.7)89 (3.5)92 (3.6)97 (3.8)72 (2.8)79 (3.1)72 (2.8)49 (1.9)796 (31.1)
Average rainy days15.313.516.316.922.323.522.523.119.421.520.617.5232.4
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)

Demographics

Population census of Barira
YearPop.±% p.a.
19807,724
199016,858+8.12%
199517,825+1.05%
200018,296+0.56%
200727,607+5.84%
201019,686−11.58%
201530,004+8.36%
202036,143+4.00%
202445,676+5.78%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Economy

Poverty Incidence of Barira

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 63.32 2003 51.28 2006 46.70 2009 39.93 2012 43.69 2015 60.08 2018 65.66 2021 40.89 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Gross Domestic Product

The Gross Domestic Product of the Municipality (2022) is 11,074,500,000(PHP).

External links