Cotabato Province, Philippines Genealogy

Asia Philippines  Cotabato Province

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Article copied verbatim from the LGU of the Cotabato Province

Before the coming of the Christian migrants from Luzon and the Visayas which had accelerated the growth of settlements and subsequently gave rise to bustling municipalities, this area named Cotabato was inhabited by various ethnic groups namely: the Manobos, the Bagobos and the Muslims sometime in 1500 A.D. These various tribes are believed to be descendants of Indonesian immigrants owing to their similarity in physical structure and language.

When the Maguindanao Sultan acceded to Spanish sovereignty in 1861, the colonial government organized several districts to cover the vast plain of the Pulangi. Those who resisted the Spaniards fled towards the interior, to Pagalungan and continued resisting Spanish intrusion into the region. The district of Cotabato was formed in 1860. In 1871, the district covered the military areas of Polloc, Malabang, Reina Regente, Taceran, Babia, Illana, Baras and Lebac. What is presently Cotabato remained outside the area of Spanish activities.

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 Cities.

"Cotabato" comes from the Maguindanao “Kuta Wato”, or “Stone Fort”, and bespeaks of the long tradition of courage and resistance that marks the history of the Pulangi River basin. 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 effectivity of the operation of the original province of Cotabato was on September 1, 1914. Before then, Cotabato was never called a province. It was just categorized as a mere district of the Moro Province. The Moro Province was composed of all the political subdivisions of 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 had any knowledge of surveying at the time, the territorial jurisdiction of the Cotabato District was roughly described, wanting in definiteness and usually giving rise to boundary conflicts with neighboring provinces.

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

The northern part of Cotabato particularly along the boundaries of Davao and Bukidnon was relatively unaffected during the emergence of Mohammedanism in the province. T

The influx of Spanish "conquistadores" also did not affect the northern part of the province. The Spaniards came to subdue the "Moros" or Muslim pirates who attacked several islands of the Visayas and Luzon, at the turn of the 17th century. To prevent the further penetration of Muslim pirates, a fort was established at Tamontaka.

The Spaniards arrived in Cotabato way back in 1696 when Captain Rodriguez de Figueroa obtained from the Spanish government the exclusive right to colonize Mindanao. On February 1, 1596, he left Iloilo and landed at the mouth of Rio Grande de Mindanao, in what is known today as Cotabato City. With Cotabato as the base, the Spanish "conquistadores" attempted to enter the interior region following the Rio Grande and reached as far as Pikit to protect the Spaniards from continuous harassment from the Mohammedans. Today, the Spanish Fort in Pikit still stands as the only relic of Spanish colonial power in the province.

The American forces arrived in the early part of the twentieth century. The Mohammedans under Datu Alamada and Datu Ali put up a very strong resistance in Midsayap, which hastened the coming of General Leonard Wood, then Military Governor, to personally lead the assault on the stronghold. But with the capture of the fortress in Midsayap, the Mohammedans engaged the military forces in guerilla warfare.

Though Islam was the first religion, Christianity also was introduced later in 1596. The first Christian settlers in Cotabato from outside of Mindanao-mostly came from the Province of Cebu and arrived in Pikit on June 17, 1913. There were six more batches of "colonos" that arrived after June 17, 1913. From Pikit, children and kin of settlers later moved westwards to Midsayap and eastward to Kidapawan. Other settlements were organized later in General Santos, Marbel, Kiamba, Tupi, Banga and neighboring places. Most of the settlers came from Luzon and were better attended to by the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) and the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO). Succeeding entry of enterprising Visayans and Luzonians came later at their own volition and expenses.

It was not always all 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 destruction of the Japanese Imperial Forces was experienced by almost every Filipino. The second World War was a black chapter in our history but development albeit slow-paced, and the normal functions of government resumed after we were liberated by the American Forces led by General Douglas McArthur.

The biggest province in the country (Cotabato) had only one municipality when it was created a province on September 1, 1914: Cotabato Municipality, its capital, which became a city in 1959. Before the outbreak of World War II on December 7, 1941, Cotabato province had only three (3) municipalities: Cotabato, Dulawan (later named Datu Piang, in honor of Amai Mingka, the father of Governor Ugalingan Piang and Congressman Gumbay Piang) and Midsayap. The latter two were simultaneously created on November 25, 1936.

The original Cotabato first experienced its first "slicing" or reduction of size in 1966 when South Cotabato was separated from the empire province. The first "slice" (South Cotabato) before belongs to Region XI. After the reduction, the reduced empire province still had 34 municipalities left, one of which (Carmen was bigger than the Province of Tarlac. Our remaining province, after the separation of South Cotabato was effected in 1966, was again divided into three (3) district provinces, namely: North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 341, dated November 22, 1973. The Batas Pambansa thereafter renamed North Cotabato to just Cotabato in BP No. 660 on December 19, 1983, striking off the word "North."

Since the original Cotabato was formally created as a Province on September 1, 1914, the governors of Cotabato before that date could not be called "Provincial Governors." Before 1914 (1899-1913) our District Governors were all American Military Governors, all belonging to the Philippine Constabulary and all with the rank of major, except Don Ramon Vilo who ruled this area in 1898. As a province, Cotabato had its first Civil Governor in 1941.

Cemeteries

 * Public Cemetery, Lanao Kuran Arakan Cotabato
 * Private Cemetery
 * Catholic Cemetery
 * Public Cemetery
 * Bannawag Cemetery
 * Public Cemetery
 * Doroluman Cemetery
 * Find A Grave

Websites

 * Cotabato Wikipedia
 * Cotabato Province Government Website
 * Cotabato (North Cotabato)
 * Cotabato Province, Philippines
 * ZIP Codes & Phone Area Code