Cotabato City
Philippines · Asia
About Cotabato City
Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato, is an independent component city in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 383,383 people, making it the most populated city under the independent component city status.
Cotabato City was formerly a part and the regional center of Region XII, but due to the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, it is now part of Bangsamoro and serves as the regional center. Being an independent component city, it is not subject to regulation from the Provincial Government of Maguindanao del Norte where it is geographically located. The Philippine Statistics Authority also lists Cotabato City as statistically independent. It was the capital of the Sultanate of Maguindanao.
Prior to the arrival of Hindus and Muslims, the city was a vast swamp and rainforest landscape where numerous ethno-linguistic groups lived. Maguindanao vernacular architecture developed during this era, which included the architectural techniques of at least 10 ethno-linguistic groups. Later on, Hindu traders arrived and the people of the area embraced the practice of Hinduism. The set...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.