Welcome to North Cotabato: "The Fastest Growing Economy in Central Mindanao"

Overview of its Past, People & Resources

The area covered by the empire Province of Cotabato is the territory presently occupied by the provinces of Cotabato, (the mother province), South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat, including the area now covered by General Santos and Cotabato City. The word "Cotabato" is derived from the Maguindanao dialect equivalent to for "Stone Fort" which is "Kuta Wato". Its capital was then Cotabato (now a city), a town along the Rio Grande some five kilometers from where said river empties into the sea on the west.

The total land area of the original Cotabato before its division was 2,296,791 hectares or about one thirteenth of the whole country which has an area of about 30 million hectares. So big was the original province that its area was about the size of the central plain of Luzon and bigger than the six states in the United States of America. The total land area of the Hawaiian Islands (now a U.S. state) is only about three-fourths that of the undivided Cotabato Province.

The effectivity of the operation of the original Province of Cotabato, then popularly known as the "Empire Province of Cotabato" was on September 1, 1914 - the date when the creation of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu took effect, pursuant to Act no. 2408 of Philippine Commission which was enacted in July 23, 1914, entitled:

"AN ACT PROVIDING A TEMPORARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE TERRITORY KNOWN AS THE DEPARTMENT OF MINDANAO AND SULU, MAKING APPLICABLE THERETO, WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS THE PROVISIONS OF GENERAL LAWS NOW IN FORCE IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLAND, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"

Before the passage of the above-mentioned Act by the Philippine Commission, Cotabato was never called a province. It was just categorized as mere district of the Moro Province. The Moro Province was composed of all political subdivisions of the Mindanao and Sulu, excluding the two Misamis Provinces and Surigao. the huge province (Moro Province) was created by the Philippine Commission on July 15, 1903 in Act No. 787 and probably because no Filipino has any knowledge of surveying at the time, the territorial jurisdiction of the Cotabato Districts was roughly described, wanting in definiteness and usually giving rise to boundary conflicts with neighboring provinces.

The Moro Province was governed by military governors, the last being General John J. Pershing, who was succeeded in December 1913 by the first civilian governor, Frank W. Carpenter. The early Filipinos were pagans - worshippers of the sun, the moon and some animals like Kalupindo (Parrot).

Mohammedanism or Islam was the first "imported" religion in Cotabato. It was introduced in this part of the country in the later part of 15th century by Shariff Kabunsuan, a legendary Muslim missionary who later ruled Cotabato with his descendants who established the Sultanate of Mindanao.

Shariff Kabunsuan and his descendants ruled Cotabato until the coming of the Americans in the early of the twentieth century. One important feature established by the reign of Shariff Kabunsuan was the introduction of a system of government called Datuism. The system of Government is until today still being practiced by some Mohammedans who revere the Datu as the dispenser or lawgiver of death. This system developed Muslim culture and kept Muslim united in their struggles with foreigners.

Through the Islam was the first religion, Christianity was later introduced in 1596.

The first Christian settlers in Cotabato mostly came from the Province of Cebu, they arrived in Pikit on June 17, 1913 at the behest and as a result of the efforts of the late Pres. Sergio Osmeña, then speaker of the Philippine Commission. Expenses of their transfer to the "Land of Promise" was subsidized by the government. The administrator of the "Colono" (name of the settlers at that time) was a superintendent by the name of Maximo Abad, a government-appointed official, who took care of the settler' needs their food, farm implements, and others. Six more batches or "colonies" arrived after. From Pikit, children and kin of these settlers later moved westward to Midsayap and Kidapawan.

Other settlements were organized later in General Santos, Marbel (known Koronadal), Kiamba, Tupi, Banga and neighboring places. Most of these settlers came from Luzon and were better attended by the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) and the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO). Succeeding entries of enterprising Visayans and Luzonians came at their own volition and expense.

The colonos regaled their children with such tell-tales as eating their meals inside mosquito nets "as mosquitoes were as big as hens." On the fertility of their new-found land, they would say: "In the wee hours of the night, your lola and I would go and squat near our corn plants and you know, we could hear the growth of the corn."

It was not always smiles and happiness for the people of Cotabato. The years between 1941 and 1945 were unhappy years. Cotabato was not spared the ravages of war. Atrocities and destructions by the Japanese Imperial Forces were experienced by almost every Filipino. The second World War was a black chapter in our history but development and the normal functions of government resumed after we were liberated by the American forces led by General Douglas McArthur.

Being the biggest province in the country it has only one municipality when it was created in September 1, 1914 the Cotabato Municipality, its capital, which became a city in 1959. Before the outbreak of World War II in December 7, 1941, Cotabato had only three municipalities: Cotabato, Dulawan and Midsayap. The latter two were simultaneously created on November 25,1936, under the same Executive Order.