Regions of the Philippines

The Philippines as a nation is comprised of over 7,000 islands, the Philippines is divided into 17 distinct regions, each with its own unique culture, history, and beauty.

Eight of these regions can be found in the northern island of Luzon, three in the central Visayas region, and six in the southern island of Mindanao. While these regions are not local government units, they play a crucial role in the country's administrative operations. Each region is home to a city designated as its center, where you can find the regional offices of various national government agencies.

List of regions 

Region I – Ilocos Region 

Region II – Cagayan Valley 

Region III – Central Luzon 

Region IV‑A – CALABARZON 

MIMAROPA Region 

Region V – Bicol Region 

Region VI – Western Visayas 

Region VII – Central Visayas 

Region VIII – Eastern Visayas 

Region IX – Zamboanga Peninsula 

Region X – Northern Mindanao 

Region XI – Davao Region 

Region XII – SOCCSKSARGEN 

Region XIII – Caraga 

NCR – National Capital Region 

CAR – Cordillera Administrative Region 

BARMM – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

On September 24, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 1 into law, dividing the entire country into 11 regions with designated regional centers. This was the birth of our country's regions.

Three years later, on July 7, 1975, President Marcos added another region to the mix when he signed Presidential Decree No. 742, creating Region 12, or Central Mindanao.

In 1976, Metropolitan Manila was separated from Region 4 to become its own distinct region after President Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 879. And two years later, in 1978, President Marcos declared Metropolitan Manila as the National Capital Region through Presidential Decree No. 1396.

Fast forward to 1987, and President Corazon C. Aquino signed Executive Order No. 220, creating the Cordillera Administrative Region. And in 1989, she signed into law Republic Act No. 6734, which established the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which was later ratified in a plebiscite.

In 1995, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7901 into law, creating Region 13, also known as the Caraga Region.

Six years later, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 36, reorganizing the administrative regions in Mindanao and renaming some of the regions. And in 2002, she signed Executive Order No. 103, dividing Region IV into two regions: Region IV-A and Region IV-B.

In 2015, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Executive Order No. 183, creating the Negros Island Region. However, this was short-lived as President Rodrigo R. Duterte revoked the executive order in 2017.

And just a year later, in 2018, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11054 into law, establishing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, replacing the previous Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. This law was ratified in a plebiscite in January 2019.