Sultan Kudarat

The name Sultan Kudarat given to the province was derived from the Maguindanaon Muslim ruler, Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat who begun 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.[3] He is considered a national hero, and in his honor the province was named after him.[4]

Sultan Kudarat was once part of the Sultanate of Maguindanao. It became one of the stronghold of the Maguindanao society as some royal families have established their own Sultanate in the region.

Sultan Kudarat was part of the former province of Cotabato, until its creation as an independent province (along with Maguindanao and North Cotabato) on November 22, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 341.[5]

Sultan Kudarat is situated on the southwestern section of central Mindanao. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Maguindanao 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 5,298.34 square kilometres (2,045.70 sq mi).[8]

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.[9] The three coastal towns on the province's western side (Lebak, Kalamansig and Palimbang) 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.[10]

The province has an irregular coastline of 132 kilometres (82 mi) in its three coastal towns, which face the Celebes Sea.[11] These coastal areas are prone to tsunamis coming from the Celebes Sea.[9] 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.[11]

Administrative divisions

Sultan Kudarat comprises 11 municipalities and 1 city. Three of the municipalities (Kalamansig, Lebak, and Palimbang) 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 City 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.

Political map of Sultan Kudarat

†  Capital municipality  ∗  Component city   Municipality City or municipality[A] District[8] Population ±% p.a. Area[8] Density Barangay Coordinates[B] (2020)[2] (2015)[14] km2 sq mi /km2 /sq mi Bagumbayan 2nd 8.1% 68,947 67,061 +0.53% 672.06 259.48 100 260 19 6°32′25″N 124°34′01″E Columbio 1st 3.9% 33,527 33,258 +0.15% 926.15 357.59 36 93 16 6°37′54″N 124°58′27″E Esperanza 2nd 8.7% 74,696 66,095 +2.36% 324.29 125.21 230 600 19 6°43′21″N 124°31′14″E Isulan † 1st 11.4% 97,490 90,682 +1.39% 541.25 208.98 180 470 17 6°38′02″N 124°35′50″E Kalamansig 2nd 6.0% 50,900 49,059 +0.70% 699.20 269.96 73 190 15 6°33′18″N 124°02′59″E Lambayong (Mariano Marcos) 1st 9.3% 79,739 77,013 +0.66% 226.88 87.60 350 910 26 6°47′54″N 124°37′57″E Lebak 2nd 10.7% 91,344 88,868 +0.52% 470.86 181.80 190 490 27 6°37′57″N 124°03′58″E Lutayan 1st 7.7% 65,644 63,029 +0.78% 271.00 104.63 240 620 11 6°33′34″N 124°51′31″E Palimbang 2nd 10.9% 92,828 90,424 +0.50% 484.85 187.20 190 490 40 6°12′39″N 124°11′21″E President Quirino 1st 4.9% 42,244 41,408 +0.38% 208.40 80.46 200 520 19 6°41′54″N 124°44′25″E Senator Ninoy Aquino 2nd 5.5% 47,374 46,882 +0.20% 320.00 123.55 150 390 20 6°27′34″N 124°19′20″E Tacurong ∗ 1st 12.8% 109,319 98,316 +2.04% 153.40 59.23 710 1,800 20 6°41′18″N 124°40′43″E Total 854,052 812,095 +0.96% 5,298.34 2,045.70 160 410 249 (see GeoGroup box) ^ Former names are italicized. ^ Coordinates mark the city/town center, and are sortable by latitude.

The population of Sultan Kudarat in the 2020 census was 854,052 people,[2] with a density of 160 inhabitants per square kilometre or 410 inhabitants per square mile.

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.[16] The Hiligaynons constitute the majority of the population,[16] with Hiligaynon being the province's most widely spoken language.[17] Other languages spoken in the province are Maguindanaon, Karay-a, Dulangan Manobo, Blaan, Teduray, Ilocano, and Cebuano.[9] Tagalog and English are also widely understood and used in education, business, and administration as the national official languages, the former being the 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 (who constitute the majority of the provincial Muslim population), as well as the Manobos, Tedurays and Blaans, the three autochthonous ethnic groups of the province.[16] 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.

Aerial view of the western coast of the province

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.[29] 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 (Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang).[30] 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 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.[31]

For the school year 2009–2010, the province has 475 schools (401 public and 74 private), 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.[32]

Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital

In 2010, Sultan Kudarat had 27 hospitals (5 government-owned, 22 private and 1 mobile hospital), which are classified into 17 primary (6-25 beds capacity), 8 secondary (25-100 beds capacity) and 2 tertiary (over 100 beds capacity). Tacurong had the most number of hospitals in the province with 11, followed by Isulan with 5.[33]

As of 2010, the provincial road network spanned a total length of 3,749.5813 kilometres (2,329.8818 mi) 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 516.789 kilometres (321.118 mi), while Lutayan had the shortest at 107.38 kilometres (66.72 mi).[32]

Sultan Kudarat has two seaports: the Port of Lebak in Kalamansig and the San Roque Port in Palimbang, and four airports (2 government-owned: Lebak Municipal Airport and President Quirino Airport, and 2 privately owned: Kalamansig Airport and Kenram Airport).[34]

Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol in Isulan at night

Festivals celebrated within the province include:

• "2010 Socio-Economic Profile; Sultan Kudarat Province" (PDF). Province of Sultan Kudarat. PPDO Staff. 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2016.

• Media related to Sultan Kudarat at Wikimedia Commons
• Geographic data related to Sultan Kudarat at OpenStreetMap
• Official website of the provincial government of Sultan Kudarat
• Local Governance Performance Management System
• Manila Statues: Sultan Kudarat Monument Information