Brief Overview of Cotabato Province
The original Cotabato Province known as the "Empire Province of Cotabato" used to be the largest in the country in terms of land area until November 22, 1973 when PD 341 was issued creating the new provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao. Earlier, South Cotabato was segregated, and what was then North Cotabato was renamed Cotabato under Batas Pambansa 660. Now only 6,958.72 square kilometers in area, it is still big enough to be 29.5% of the total land area of Region XII. Cotabato at present strategically lies in the central portion of Mindanao. Kidapawan City, the capital with roughly 70,000 people lies in the eastern slopes of Mt. Apo, the country's highest peak at 10,311 feet above sea level. Cotabato has a distinct characteristic resulting from varying cultures, dialects, traits and ways of life as indicated by its unique blend of people. Today, about 80 percent of the population are Christian migrants from the Visayas and Luzon. The cultural communities predominated by Muslims and Monobo highlanders comprise the remaining 20 percent.
Cotabato Province is bounded on the North by the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur; on the South by the province of Davao del Sur; on the West by Maguindanao and on the Southwest by the province of Sultan Kudarat.
The climate is cool and humid. There are no typhoons but rainfall is frequent. The plains of Cotabato also lie between long mountain ranges which are sources of cool breezes. Click here
to view Regional StatWatch. |
Historical
Background