Central Mindanao

Central Mindanao was a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and was officially designated as Region XII.

Prior to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, these provinces comprised the region:

• Lanao del Norte
• Lanao del Sur
• Maguindanao
• North Cotabato
• Sultan Kudarat

SOCCSKSARGEN^[2] (pronounced [sokˈsardʒɛn]) is a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and is officially designated as Region XII. The name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranganiand General Santos City. The region is more formally known by its older name Central Mindanao. The regional center is Koronadal City located in the province of South Cotabato.^[3] Cotabato City, though geographically within the boundaries of the province of Maguindanao, itself is part of SOCCSKSARGEN, and is independent of that province. Maguindanao province is, in fact, a part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which has its seat in Cotabato City. SOCCSKSARGEN and the province of Maguindanao were once part of the original Cotabato province

Geography[edit source | editbeta]

The region has extensive coastlines, valleys and mountain ranges. Known for its river system, the region is the catch basin of Mindanao. The system is a rich source of food, potable water and energy production. Cotabato contains the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which is the longest river in Mindanao and the second longest in the Philippines.

The region used to be named kudaan. Prior to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, these provinces comprised the region:

• Maguindanao
• North Cotabato
• Sultan Kudarat

With the creation of ARMM, Lanao del Sur (excluding Marawi City) and Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato City) were removed from the region, leaving Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, and Marawi City and Cotabato City as constituent provinces and cities. Lanao del Norte was later transferred to Northern Mindanao, while Marawi City became part of the ARMM.

With the addition of South Cotabato and Sarangani or the (SocSarGen Province), transferred from Southern Mindanao, the region was renamed asSOCCSKSARGEN. The "Central Mindanao" name lives on as a description to the provinces populated by 65% Christians and 30% Muslim and 5% other Filipinos.