Brief Overview of Sarangani Province
Sarangani Province, composed of one landlocked and six coastal towns, is found in the southern tip of Mindanao. It was named Sarangani being a primarily coastal area and close to Sarangani Bay. The name itself is a legend, about the life of Saranganing, and adventurous son of a Sangil family from the coast of Celebes of Indonesia. His sailing often brought him to the Sultanate of Buayan (now General Santos City), a stronghold of Maguindanaos. His outstanding character impressed the people that the bay was named in his honor. Sarangani Province's earliest known inhabitants were Maguindanaon, B'laan, T'boli and ethnic tribes in the uplands. Christian migration from the Visayas and Luzon islands in the early 1900s opened its vast, fertile lands to agriculture. The first migrants were Cebuanos who arrived in Glan in 1914, turning the vast cogonal terrain into farms with "corn stalks as big as children's legs and ears as big as banana blossoms". Ilocano settlers set up homesteads in Kiamba in 1918. :Good news" about the Land of Promise triggered a wave of Christian migration in the 1920s. Ilonggo settlers arrived in Malungon in the 1930s. In 1991, an archeological find (human faces and figures in earthware medium) in barangay Pinol, Maitum yielded hundreds of anthropomorphic potteries associated to the Metal Age in the Philippines, circa 500 B.C. to A.D. 500. Although the findings of its age are still not conclusive, a National Museum curator has found out that "our Southeast Asian neighbors have nothing of this type of archeological finds". Another important historical landmark, the Tampat Shrine in Maasim, enshrines the tomb of revered earliest Muslim missionaries who arrived in the 15th century. Sarangani Province was carved out from South Cotabato through the initiative of Rep. James L. Chiongbian through Republic Act 7228. This landmark legislation spurred unprecedented development in the former third district of South Cotabato, making the new province a key player in the emerging SOSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) growth area. Upon its creation, Sarangani received massive funding support for infrastructure development never before enjoyed by its constituents. A paved national highway connects all towns through General Santos City today. The Capitol Building and other edifices within Sarangani Capitol Park now serve as the landmark of the province's fast-tracked development.
The province of Sarangani is the country's 76th, Mindanao's 23rd and Region XII's 4th province. It is located at the southernmost tip Mindanao and the Philippines. It lies between latitude of about 5° 33' 41" to 6° 32' 4" North and longitude of about 124° 21' 39.6" to 125° 35' 11" East, bounded on the North by the province of South Cotabato, on the South by Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, on the East by DAvao del Sur, and on the West by and Sultan Kudarat. Between the eastern and the western parts of the Province is General Santos City. Furthermore, the province is directly facing Indonesia and other neighbor East ASEAN countries making it the gateway to BIMP-EAGA. It also serves as the country's backdoor to international linkage. Beacuse of its strategic geographical location, the Province, as part of the SOCSKSARGEN Growth AREA, has great potential for industry complementation and cultural ties with its proximate neighbor countries. The Province has a total land area of 4,100.42 square kilometers. Among the seven (7) municipalities comprising the province, Malungon has the largest land area (896.63 sq. km.) comprising 21.78% of the total land area of the province, followed by Glan (697.6 sq. km). Maitum, with only 324.35 sq. km is the province's smallest municipality with a 7.91% share of the provincial land area.
Sarangani is a typhoon-free province. Its climate belongs to Type IV of the country's climate classification. This type is characterized by a rainfall that is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. Average annual rainfall in 1999 was registered at 79.6mm. Heavy rainfall occurs during the months of June to August. Average annual air temperature is 27.1°C. The hottest month is April where the maximum temperature reached its highest at 33.7°C, while the coldest month is January which registered 21.5°C. Relative humidity reading ranges from 76% to 84%. Prevailing wind direction blows towards North to Northeast. Click here
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Historical
Background