Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the Philippines located in the

Soccsksargen Soccsksargen (officially stylized in all caps; ), formerly known as Central Mindanao, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region XII. Located in south-central Mindanao, its name is an List of g ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Its capital is Alabel while Glan is the most populous municipality in the province. With a coastline along the Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, the province is at the southernmost tip of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

island, and borders

South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...

and

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

to the north,

Davao Occidental Davao Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Occidental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the municipality of Malita, the most populous town in the province. To the east lies ...

to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. Sarangani is part of the South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos (Soccsksargen) development cluster, and is linked by paved roads to the international airport and harbor of

General Santos General Santos, officially the City of General Santos and abbreviated as GenSan, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Soccsksargen, Philippines. According to ...

. The province is divided into two sections, separated by the Sarangani Bay and the city of General Santos, and it used to be part of South Cotabato until it was made an independent province in 1992. The General Santos Metropolitan Area or Metro General Santos is a metropolitan area encompassing the highly urbanized city of

, The Regional Agro-Industrial Center of Alabel, the towns of Glan, Kiamba, Maasin, Maitum, Malapatan and Malungon and the neighboring provinces of

adding Metro General Santos adding

Lake Sebu Lake Sebu ( Tboli: ''Lanaw Sbù'', ; Hiligaynon: ''Linaw sg Sëbu'', ; Filipino: ''Lawa ng Sëbu'') is a natural lake located in the municipality of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato within the Alah Valley region. The Philippine government has reco ...

, Polomolok, T'Boli and Tupi.

History

Early history

The earliest civilization in the province can be found in Maitum, Sarangani, where the Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery or Maitum Jars were found. The jars have been dated to approximately 5 BC to 370 AD, one of the oldest in the entire Southeast Asian region and the Philippines. The discovery testified to the long history of cultural exchanges in Sarangani and its people. The Sarangani was once part of

Sultanate of Maguindanao The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw'', Jawi: كسولتانن نو مڬیندنو; Filipino: ''Kasultanan ng Mangindánaw'') was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in th ...

. The establishment of the Sultanate in the area caused more Maguindanaon settlers arrival. After the fall of the

as a great power in Mindanao, Datu Uto of Buayan expanded his domain towards Sarangani Bay. Sarangani would eventually be under the Sultanate of Buayan until the American era.

Spanish colonial era

Sarangani Island (now part of

) was named by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Ruy López de Villalobos Ruy López de Villalobos (; – 23 April 1546) was a Spanish explorer who led a failed attempt to colonize the Philippines in 1544, attempting to assert Spanish control there under the terms of the treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza. U ...

in 1543, in honor of Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco, the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

who had appointed López de Villalobos to lead an expedition to the Western Islands (now the Philippines) because of their relation by marriage. The early inhabitants who first inhabited Sarangani were the indigenous natives, called ''MunaTo'', a native term for "first people." balita.ph/2008, Man-made island resort now a Sarangani landmark
/ref> MaguindanaoMapMaximumExtent

Japanese occupation era

In 1942, the Japanese troops occupied Southern Cotabato. In 1945, Filipino troops of the 6th, 10th, 101st and 102nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 10th Constabulary Regiment of the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

entered in and liberated Southern Cotabato and fought against the Japanese Imperial Army forces during the Battle of Cotabato at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the Japanese Occupation.

Philippine independence

Before its inception in 1992, Sarangani was part of

under its third district. The province was created by

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

No. 7228 on March 16, 1992, penned by Congressman James Chiongbian, who would later become the province's first representative to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. His wife, Priscilla Chiongbian, became the first Governor of Sarangani.

Geography

Sarangani covers a total area of occupying the southern tip of the

in central

. The province is bordered on the central-north by

, northeast by

, east by

, south by the Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, and northwest by

Sultan Kudarat Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Ku ...

Sarangani is divided into two (eastern and western) sections, separated by the Sarangani Bay and

in the middle. The western portion comprises the towns of Maitum, Kiamba, and Maasim, and is bounded on the north by

and on the northwest by

. The eastern section consists of Alabel, Glan, Malapatan, and Malungon.

Administrative divisions

Sarangani comprises seven

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. A single legislative district encompasses all towns. Ph fil sarangani

Demographics

The population of Sarangani in the 2020 census was 558,946 people, with a density of .

Religion

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is the majority religion in the province with a total of 79% (48%

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and 31%

evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

). Other religious minorities are

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(9%) and

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

(2%). The remainder is usually divided among other Christian churches.

Economy

Coconut, corn, rice, banana, mango, durian, rubber, and sugarcane are major crops now being planted by the inhabitants. The province has plantations (mango, banana, pineapple, asparagus), cattle ranches, and commercial fishponds that have been operating in the area, some of which having existed as far back as 40 years. Electricity comes from the National Power Corporation, and augmented by a 50 MW power plant in Alabel, the province's capital. Water is provided for by sustainable spring development projects.

Government

Elected Officials * Rep. Steve Chiongbian Solon * Gov. Rogelio D. Pacquiao * Vice Gov. Elmer T. de Peralta Elected Officials * Rep. Rogelio D. Pacquiao * Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon * Vice Gov. Elmer T. de Peralta Elected Officials * Rep. Rogelio D. Pacquiao * Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon * Vice Gov. Elmer T. de Peralta Elected Officials * Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao * Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon * Vice Gov. Jinkee J. Pacquiao Elected Officials * Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao * Gov. Miguel Rene Angelo Dominguez * Vice Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon Elected Officials * Rep. Erwin Chiongbian * Gov. Miguel Angelo Dominguez * Vice Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon Elected Officials * Rep. Erwin Chiongbian * Gov. Miguel Angelo Dominguez * Vice Gov. Bridget Chiongbian-Huang Elected Officials * Rep. Erwin Chiongbian * Gov. Miguel Escobar * Vice Gov. Felipe Constantino Elected Officials * Rep. Juan Domino* * Gov. Priscilla Chiongbian * Vice Gov. Miguel Escobar Elected Officials * Rep. James Chiongbian(as Lone District of Sarangani) * Gov. Priscilla Chiongbian * Vice Gov. Miguel Escobar Elected Officials * Rep. James Chiongbian (as Third District of South Cotabato) * Gov. Priscilla Chiongbian * Vice Gov. Miguel Escobar Note * *-Rep.Juan Domino was Disqualified due to a lack of Residency

Tourism

Sarangani celebrates its foundation anniversary every November, named as ''MunaTo Festival''. Sarangani has ancient burial jars, discovered by archaeologists from the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

in ''Ayub Cave'' in Maitum, in 1991 and in 2008, and at ''Sagel Cave'' in Maitum (now declared by

National Historical Institute The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of history of the Philippines, Philippine history and culture of the Philippines, cultural heritage through ...

as a national historical site). Amid

's armed conflicts, artifacts found thereat prove settlements of pre-historic civilization in Maitum.

Notable people

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...

- boxer and senator having his family from Sarangani. * Jinkee Pacquiao - wife of

and former Sarangani vice governor (2013). Her family is from Sarangani.

References

External links

* *
Official Website of the Provincial Government of Sarangani

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Provinces of the Philippines Provinces of Soccsksargen States and territories established in 1992 1992 establishments in the Philippines