Cotabato Province

Also known as: Province of Cotabato · North Cotabato

Definition

Cotabato Province, officially the Province of Cotabato (and historically North Cotabato), is a landlocked province in the Soccsksargen region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao. Its capital is Kidapawan City. Known for its agricultural exports and geothermal power plants, the province is a leading producer of rubber, sugar, fruit, and rice. Its key component cities and municipalities include Kidapawan, Midsayap, Kabacan, Pigcawayan, Makilala, and Carmen. (Wikipedia, Cotabato Govt)

Identities

Source Type	Identity
Wikipedia	Cotabato
Wikidata	Q13801
DBpedia	Cotabato
ProductOntology	N/A
Wiktionary	cotabato
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)	Cotabato (Philippines : Province) — History
MeSH	N/A
NCBI Taxonomy	N/A
AGROVOC	N/A
Google Scholar	North Cotabato agriculture rubber production Kidapawan
ConceptNet	cotabato
OpenCyc	N/A

Also Known As

Province of Cotabato
North Cotabato

Examples and Analogies

Geothermal Energy: The Mount Apo Geothermal Power Plant in Kidapawan generates clean electricity for the Mindanao power grid.
Rubber Processing: Processing plants in Makilala purchase raw rubber cup lumps from local smallholder farms to produce export-grade rubber sheets.

Usage Scenarios

1. Leasing Agricultural Land

A rubber plantation company leases agricultural property in Makilala to expand its natural rubber harvest.

2. Acquiring Commercial Buildings

A microfinance bank purchases a commercial building in Midsayap to open a branch serving local farming cooperatives.

Strategies

Leverage the central location of Kabacan to set up agricultural trading centers serving both Davao and Central Mindanao markets.
Monitor water resources near the Pulangi River to ensure sustainable irrigation for large-scale rice farming projects.

Security and Safety Measures

Conduct land title verification at the Registry of Deeds in Kidapawan to ensure lands are free of overlapping ancestral domain claims.
Ensure construction projects follow high seismic standards, as the Makilala area is prone to active tectonic fault lines.

Historical Context

The old Province of Cotabato was created in 1914 under the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. It was split into North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao on November 22, 1973, under Presidential Decree No. 341. In 1984, North Cotabato was officially renamed Cotabato under Batas Pambansa Blg. 660. In 2019, 63 barangays in municipalities like Midsayap and Pigcawayan voted to join the newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BARMM), altering the province’s administrative map. (Wikipedia)

Challenges and Controversies

Administrative Boundaries

The transfer of dozens of agricultural barangays to the BARMM Special Geographic Area has created complex local tax and licensing boundaries.

Active Earthquake Swarms

The province suffered a series of high-magnitude earthquakes in late 2019 that disrupted agricultural communities and infrastructure.