Sultan Kudarat


Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat, is a province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 854,052 people. Its capital is Isulan while the commercial center and largest city is Tacurong.

Etymology

The name Sultan Kudarat given to the province was derived from the Maguindanaon Muslim ruler, Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat who began to assert his leadership in the year 1619 and reigned in the Sultanate of Maguindanao from 1625 to 1671. Through his leadership, Spanish forces were successfully repelled from encroaching the Cotabato region of south-central Mindanao. He is considered a national hero, and in his honor, the province was named after him.

History

Sultan Kudarat was once part of the Sultanate of Maguindanao. It became one of the strongholds of the Maguindanao society as some royal families established their own Sultanate in the region.
Sultan Kudarat was part of the former province of Cotabato, until its creation as an independent province on November 22, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 341.
Sultan Kudarat was transferred from Central Mindanao region to ARMM after its creation in 1989. On December 18, 1998, Sultan Kudarat was transferred back to Central Mindanao through Republic Act No. 8744, until Central Mindanao was renamed Soccsksargen in 2001.

Palimbang Massacre

One notable event that took place in Sultan Kudarat was the Palimbang Massacre, which saw the mass murder of Moro residents of Barrio Malisbong in Palimbang by units of the Philippine Military on September 24, 1974,–1,500 two years after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. Accounts compiled by the Moro Women's Center in General Santos state that 1,500 male Moros aged 11–70 were killed inside a mosque, 3,000 women and children aged 9–60 were detained – with the women being raped – and 300 houses were razed by the government forces.

Sultan Kudarat (Tacurong) Bird Festival

On May 10 and 11 of 2024, Tacurong held the 8th "Sultan Kudarat Bird Festival" at the 2.5-hectare Baras Bird Sanctuary, the largest nesting site of 20,000 bird species, particularly those of egrets and herons.

Geography

Sultan Kudarat is situated in the southwestern section of central Mindanao. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Cotabato; on the south by South Cotabato and Sarangani; on the east by Davao del Sur; and on the west by the Moro Gulf and the Celebes Sea. The province's total land area is.
File:Lebak View.jpg|thumb|left|The Moro Gulf seen from Lebak
Two major mountain ranges encompass the province; the Alip Mountain Range in Columbio and the Daguma Mountain Range within the towns of Bagumbayan, Isulan, and Esperanza. The three coastal towns on the province's western side are lined with mountain ranges that separate the central part of the province from the sea. There are also mountains on the eastern side, leaving flat land in between.
The province has an irregular coastline of in its three coastal towns, which face the Celebes Sea. These coastal areas are prone to tsunamis coming from the Celebes Sea. Approximately 2/3 of Lake Buluan's area is covered by the province in the towns of Lutayan and President Quirino. There are 7 major rivers within the province: Alip, Allah, Kapingkong, Tran, Salaman, Palimbang and Kabulnan. Additionally, there are 23 large creeks and 11 major springs within the province.

Land use and soil types

Forestland constitutes the majority of the province's land use, followed by agricultural land, fishing grounds, non-agricultural land, "other bodies of water", and fishponds.
Five major soil types are found within the province, the majority of which is classified as Mountain Soil, followed by Sandy Loam, Silty Clay Loam, Clay Loam and Loamy Sand.

Climate

The climate of Sultan Kudarat falls under Type IV of Climate. Heavy rainfall occurs from April to November. Unlike most other provinces in the country, Sultan Kudarat is generally free from typhoons as it is situated outside the "typhoon belt".
The average temperature is, with as the average maximum normally occurring in March. The lowest recorded was in the Kulaman area from December to early January.

Administrative divisions

Sultan Kudarat comprises 11 municipalities and 1 city. Three of the municipalities are coastal towns, while the rest of the province is located inland. The 11 municipalities and Tacurong City are further subdivided into 249 barangays.
Tacurong is the smallest unit in the province by land area, but is the most urbanized and is considered the province's commercial center. Other growth centers are Lebak and Isulan, the latter being the provincial capital.

Demographics

The population of Sultan Kudarat in the 2020 census was 854,052 people, with a density of.
At the 2000 census, the province had a total population of 586,505 inhabitants, which grew to 747,087 in the 2010 census. About 113 ethnic groups were identified in the province in the 2000 Census. Though an ethnically diverse province, the Hiligaynons constitute the majority of Sultan Kudarat's population, with Hiligaynon being the province's most widely spoken language. Other languages spoken in the province are Maguindanaon, Karay-a, Dulangan [Manobo language|Dulangan Manobo], Blaan, Teduray, Ilocano, and Cebuano. Filipino and English are also widely understood and used in education, business, and administration as the national official languages, the former serving as dominant language in local media and of everyday communication of speakers of different languages, making it a secondary lingua franca in the province.
Aside from the Hiligaynons, who settled in Sultan Kudarat around the 17th to 18th centuries along with the Karay-as, whereas their fellow new settlers from Visayas continued until the Philippine independence, other ethnic groups in the province include the Maguindanaons, as well as the Manobos, Tedurays and Blaans, the three autochthonous ethnic groups of the province. Ilocanos and Cebuanos meanwhile are relative newcomers to the province, with the former comprising the majority of the population in the towns of Lambayong and President Quirino, and the latter in the town of Kalamansig.

Religion

The two major religious groups in Sultan Kudarat are Catholic and Islam. Other Christian groups constitute most of the remainders such as the Iglesia ni Cristo, Seventh-day Adventist, Evangelical Christians, United [Church of Christ in the Philippines], Jehovah's Witnesses, United Methodist Church, Southern Baptists, as well as "tribal religions".
In 2015 the Philippine Statistics Authority recorded Islam followed by 29.48% of the population.

Economy

The economy of Sultan Kudarat is predominantly agricultural. The leading crops produced in the province are rice, corn, coconuts, coffee, bananas, mangoes, durians and African palm. The province is self-sufficient in poultry, swine and root crops, and is one of the few producers of Irish potatoes in the Philippines. The southern Philippines Grain Complex in Tacurong is the largest grains-processing complex in the country. There are more than 200 rice mills in the province.
Fishing is an industry in the three coastal towns of the province. Tuna caught along the coasts along the Celebes Sea are exported to Japan and Europe.
Other economic activities include cottage industries, which include crafts made of rattan, coconut shells, coir, driftwood and other types of wood.
Metallic minerals, which include copper, gold and silver, are found within the mountainous areas of Isulan, Bagumbayan, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Palimbang and Columbio. Non-metallic minerals which include sand, gravel and marbleized limestone are also found in the province.

Education

For the school year 2009–2010, the province has 475 schools, 368 of which were elementary schools, 90 were secondary, and 17 were tertiary. Sultan Kudarat State University is the only public tertiary school within the province,
with its main campus at Tacurong City. Its other campuses are situated in Bagumbayan, Isulan, Kalamansig, Lutayan, Palimbang, and Senator Ninoy Aquino.

Health facilities

In 2010, Sultan Kudarat had 27 hospitals, which are classified into 17 primary
, 8 secondary and 2 tertiary. Tacurong had the most number of hospitals in the province with 11, followed by Isulan with 5.

Transportation

As of 2010, the provincial road network spanned a total length of of which 49.26% were barangay roads, 27.97% provincial roads, 13.51% municipal/city roads and 9.25% national roads. Bagumbayan had the longest road network at, while Lutayan had the shortest at.
Sultan Kudarat has two seaports: the Port of Lebak in Kalamansig and the San Roque Port in Palimbang, and four airports.

Government

Elected Officials

The following are the elected government officials and their years of tenure:
Elected Officials :
  • Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • Vice Governor: Raden C. Sakaluran
  • * 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
  • * 2nd District: Horacio Suansing
Elected Officials :
  • Governor: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
  • Vice Governor: Ernesto F. Matias
  • * 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Rep. Raden C. Sakaluran
  • * 2nd District: Rep. Arnulfo F. Go
Elected Officials :
  • Governor: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
  • Vice Governor: Donato A. Ligo
  • * 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Rep. Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • * 2nd District: Rep. Arnulfo F. Go
Elected Officials :
  • Representative: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
  • Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • Vice Governor: Donato A. Ligo
Elected Officials :
  • Representative: Angelo O. Montilla
  • Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • Vice Governor: Miguel Domingo T. Jacalan III
Elected Officials :
  • Representative: Angelo O. Montilla
  • Governor: Nesthur R. Gumana
  • Vice Governor: Rose P. Jamison
Elected Officials :
  • Representative: Estanislao Váldez
  • Governor: Nesthur R. Gumana
  • Vice Governor: Sinsuat A. Andang Sr.

    List of former governors

The former governors who have administered the province are:
  • Carlos B. Cajelo
  • Gonzalo H. Siongco
  • Conrado E. Buencamino
  • Benjamin C. Duque ; was elected Governor
  • Aurelio C. Freires Jr.
  • Perfecto C. Bautista
  • Fidel A. Fortez
  • Exequiel S. Mayordomo
  • Nesthur R. Gumana
  • Rosila P. Jamison
  • Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • Suharto T. Mangudadatu
  • Pax S. Mangudadatu
  • Suharto T. Mangudadatu

    Festivals

Festivals celebrated within the province include:
  • Kalimudan — celebrated in the province of Sultan Kudarat, a gathering of ethnic groups within the province
  • Bansadayaw — celebrated in Bagumbayan
  • Kastifun — celebrated in Columbio
  • Hinabyog — celebrated in Esperanza
  • Hamungaya — celebrated in Isulan
  • Salagaan — celebrated in Kalamansig
  • Timpuyog — celebrated in Lambayong
  • Kapeonan — celebrated in Lebak
  • Kanduli — celebrated in Lutayan
  • Kalilang — celebrated in Palimbang
  • Sambuyawan — celebrated in President Quirino
  • Sulok — celebrated in Senator Ninoy Aquino
  • Talakudong — celebrated in Tacurong City