Cotabato, formerly North Cotabato, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. Its capital is Kidapawan City and borders Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon to the north, Davao del Sur and Davao City, Sultan Kudarat to the south, and Maguindanao to the west.
Location
The Province of Cotabato lies on the eastern part of Region XII and is strategically located in the central part of Mindanao. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon, on the east by Davao City, on the southeast by Davao Del Sur, on the west by Maguindanao Province and on the southwest by Sultan Kudarat Province.
Cotabato is strategically linked to the major "Arterial Road System" that traverses and connects the province to the Davao City - SOCSKSARGEN - Cotabato Corridor. The Cotabato via Kabacan - Maramag - Kibawe, Bukidnon Sayre Highway meanwhile serves as its link to the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan City Corridor.
The Land
Cotabato, with an area of 656,590 hectares representing 45.06% of the whole regional area, stretches west from Mt. Apo, which separates it from Davao, to the Piapayungan Range on its boundary with Lanao. In the midst of these uplands is the basin of the Pulangi or Rio Grande de Mindanao, the second longest in the Philippines at 300 km, which rises in Bukidnon and flows south to Maguindanao and Illana Bay. The province’s fertile plains are traversed by tributaries of this great river.
Typhoons do not pass through Cotabato and rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year.
History
Cotabato derives its name from the Maguindanao kuta wato, meaning "stone fort", referring to the stone fort which served as the seat of the great Sultan Kudarat in what is now Cotabato City.
Islam was introduced in this part of the country in the later part of 15th century by Shariff Kabunsuan, a legendary Muslim missionary.
Christianity was introduced in 1596, but the Spaniards were unable to penetrate into the region until the second half of the 19th century. The district of Cotabato was formed in 1860. What is presently Cotabato remained outside the area of Spanish activities.
The coming of the Americans ushered in the creation of the Moro Province on July 15, 1903 through Act No. 787 of the Philippine Commission. Cotabato, covering what are presently the provinces of Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani, became a district of the huge province (Moro Province). During the American period, large companies were established in Cotabato to exploit the vast timber resources of the region. By the 1930s settlers from Luzon and Visayas established homesteads in Cotabato. The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s.
The former province of Cotabato was once the largest in the Philippines. In 1966, South Cotabato was created as a separate province. On November 22, 1973, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 341, what remained of the old Cotabato was further divided into the provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat. North Cotabato was later renamed Cotabato through Batas Pambansa Blg. 660 approved on December 19, 1983.
Cotabato is presently composed of the component capital city of Kidapawan, 17 municipalities, and 544 barangays. The province has two congressional districts.
The People
Cotabato genesis is a melting pot of people. The first Visayan settlers reached the town of Pikit in 1913, and since then, Christian migrants have moved and lived in Cotabato, cohabitating the province with the local indigenous groups. 71% of Cotabato’s population are migrants from Luzon and the Visayas, while the remaining 18% belong to the indigenous communities Manobo, T'boli, and Maguindanao. The major dialects spoken are Hiligaynon or Ilonggo (43%), Cebuano (31%), Maguindanao (16%), and Ilocano (10%). The main religions are Roman Catholicism and Islam.
Based on the National Statistics Office, Cotabato has an overall population of 918,992 (2000 Official Census). The average population growth rate is 1.36%, which is under the national average of 2.12%.
