Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (;
Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'',
Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ;
Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Kudarat''; ), 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
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
. According to the
2020 census, it had a population of 854,052 people. Its capital is
Isulan while the commercial center and largest city is
Tacurong.
On February 23, 1995, Sultan Kudarat transferred from
the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (now
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region
Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM; ; ), is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao.
Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda ...
) to Soccsksargen.
Etymology
The name ''Sultan Kudarat'' given to the province was derived from the
Maguindanaon Muslim ruler,
Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat who began to assert his leadership in the year 1619 and reigned in the
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 ...
from 1625 to 1671. Through his leadership, Spanish forces were successfully repelled from encroaching the Cotabato region of south-central Mindanao.
He is considered a national hero, and in his honor, the province was named after him.
History
Sultan Kudarat was once part of the
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 ...
. It became one of the strongholds of the
Maguindanao
Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...
society as some royal families established their own Sultanate in the region.
Sultan Kudarat was part of the former province of
Cotabato
Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...
, until its creation as an independent province (along with
Maguindanao
Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...
and
North Cotabato
Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Kidapawan, the ...
) on November 22, 1973, through ''Presidential Decree No. 341''.
Palimbang Massacre
One notable event that took place in Sultan Kudarat was the Palimbang Massacre (also called the Malisbong Masjid Massacre), which saw the
mass murder
Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...
of
Moro residents of Barrio Malisbong in
Palimbang by units of the
Philippine Military on September 24, 1974,
–1,500
two years after
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
declared
martial law
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
. Accounts compiled by the Moro Women's Center in
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 ...
state that 1,500 male Moros aged 11–70 were killed inside a
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
, 3,000 women and children aged 9–60 were detained – with the women being raped – and 300 houses were razed by the government forces.
Sultan Kudarat (Tacurong) Bird Festival
On May 10 and 11 of 2024,
Tacurong held the 8th "Sultan Kudarat Bird Festival" at the 2.5-hectare Baras
Bird Sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...
, the largest
nesting site of 20,000
bird species, particularly those of
egret
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...
s and
heron
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...
s.
Geography
Sultan Kudarat is situated in the southwestern section of central
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 ...
. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of
Maguindanao del Norte,
Maguindanao del Sur
Maguindanao del Sur, officially the Province of Maguindanao del Sur (, Jawi Alphabet, Jawi:دايرت نو سلاتان مڬیندانو, ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro reg ...
and
Cotabato
Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...
; on the south by
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
Sarangani
Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the ...
; on the east by
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 ...
; and on the west by the
Moro Gulf
The Moro Gulf is the largest bay, gulf in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Mindanao Island, and is part of the Celebes Sea. The gulf is one of the country's tuna fishing grounds.
Geography
The gulf stretches between and is surr ...
and the
Celebes Sea. The province's total land area is .

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. 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.
The province has an irregular coastline of in its three coastal towns, which face the Celebes Sea. These coastal areas are prone to
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
s coming from the Celebes Sea. Approximately 2/3 of
Lake Buluan
Lake Buluan is a lake located on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. With an estimated surface area of , it is the third largest lake in Mindanao, after Lake Lanao and Lake Mainit. It has an average elevation of .
The lake is sandwiched ...
'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
Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
,
Kapingkong,
Tran,
Salaman,
Palimbang and
Kabulnan. Additionally, there are 23 large creeks and 11 major springs within the province.
Land use and soil types
Forestland constitutes the majority of the province's land use (50.32% ), followed by agricultural land (44.77%), fishing grounds (2.42%), non-agricultural land (1.16%), "other bodies of water" (1.02%), and fishponds (0.31%).
Five major soil types are found within the province, the majority of which is classified as ''Mountain Soil'' (71%), followed by ''Sandy Loam'' (12.036%), ''Silty Clay Loam'' (4.880%), ''Clay Loam'' (4.612%) and ''Loamy Sand'' (0.185).
Climate
The climate of Sultan Kudarat falls under Type IV of Climate (characterized by rain showers or evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year). Heavy rainfall occurs from April to November. Unlike most other provinces in the country, Sultan Kudarat is generally free from
typhoon
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
s as it is situated outside the "typhoon belt".
The average temperature is , with as the average maximum normally occurring in March. The lowest recorded was in the Kulaman area from December to early January.
Administrative divisions
Sultan Kudarat comprises 11
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' ...
and 1
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
. 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
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s.
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.
Demographics
The population of Sultan Kudarat in the 2020 census was 854,052 people, with a density of .
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. The
Hiligaynons constitute the majority of the population, with Hiligaynon being the province's most widely spoken language. Other languages spoken in the province are
Maguindanaon,
Karay-a,
Dulangan Manobo,
Blaan,
Teduray,
Ilocano, and
Cebuano.
Filipino and
English are also widely understood and used in education, business, and administration as the national official languages, the former serving as dominant language in local media and of everyday communication of speakers of different languages, making it a 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. 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.
Religion
The two major religious groups in Sultan Kudarat are
Catholic
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 ...
(47.9%) and
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 ...
(29.5%). Other Christian groups constitute most of the remainders such as the
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 ...
,
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
,
Evangelical Christians
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 ...
,
United Church of Christ in the Philippines,
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
,
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
, Southern Baptists, as well as "tribal religions".
In 2015 the Philippine Statistics Authority recorded Islam followed by 29.48% of the population.
Economy

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. The province is self-sufficient in poultry, swine and root crops, and is one of the few producers of
Irish potato
The potato () is a starch#Food , starchy root vegetable, tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground Tuber#Stem tuber, stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tub ...
es 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).
Tuna
A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
caught along the coasts along the
Celebes Sea are exported to Japan and Europe.
Other economic activities include
cottage industries
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...
, which include
craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...
s made of
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
,
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
shells,
coir
Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell ...
,
driftwood
Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack.
In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...
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.
Education
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.
Health facilities
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.
Transportation
As of 2010, the provincial road network spanned a total length of of which 49.26% were
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
roads, 27.97% provincial roads, 13.51% municipal/city roads and 9.25% national roads. Bagumbayan had the longest road network at , while Lutayan had the shortest at .
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).
Government
Elected Officials
The following are the elected government officials and their years of tenure:
Elected Officials :
* Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
* Vice Governor: Raden C. Sakaluran
** 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
** 2nd District: Horacio Suansing
Elected Officials :
* Governor: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
* Vice Governor: Ernesto F. Matias
** 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Rep. Raden C. Sakaluran
** 2nd District: Rep. Arnulfo F. Go
Elected Officials :
* Governor: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
* Vice Governor: Donato A. Ligo
** 1st District w/ Tacurong City: Rep. Pax S. Mangudadatu
** 2nd District: Rep. Arnulfo F. Go
Elected Officials :
* Representative: Suharto T. Mangudadatu
* Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
* Vice Governor: Donato A. Ligo
Elected Officials :
* Representative: Angelo O. Montilla
* Governor: Pax S. Mangudadatu
* Vice Governor: Miguel Domingo T. Jacalan III
Elected Officials :
* Representative: Angelo O. Montilla
* Governor: Nesthur R. Gumana
* Vice Governor: Rose P. Jamison
Elected Officials :
* Representative: Estanislao Váldez
* Governor: Nesthur R. Gumana
* Vice Governor: Sinsuat A. Andang, Sr.
List of former governors
The former governors who have administered the province are:
* Carlos B. Cajelo
* Gonzalo H. Siongco
* Conrado E. Buencamino
* Benjamin C. Duque ; was elected Governor
* Aurelio C. Freires, Jr.
* Perfecto C. Bautista
* Fidel A. Fortez
* Exequiel S. Mayordomo
* Nesthur R. Gumana
* Rosila P. Jamison
* Pax S. Mangudadatu
* Suharto T. Mangudadatu
* Pax S. Mangudadatu
* Suharto T. Mangudadatu
Festivals

Festivals celebrated within the province include:
* Kalimudan — celebrated in the province of Sultan Kudarat, a gathering of ethnic groups within the province
* Bansadayaw — celebrated in Bagumbayan
* Kastifun — celebrated in Columbio
* Hinabyog — celebrated in Esperanza
* Hamungaya — celebrated in Isulan
* Salagaan — celebrated in Kalamansig
* Timpuyog — celebrated in Lambayong
* Kapeonan — celebrated in Lebak
* Kanduli — celebrated in Lutayan
* Kalilang — celebrated in Palimbang
* Sambuyawan — celebrated in President Quirino
* Sulok — celebrated in Senator Ninoy Aquino
* Talakudong — celebrated in Tacurong City
Citations
References
*
External links
*
*
Official website of the provincial government of Sultan Kudarat
Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Provinces of the Philippines
Provinces of Soccsksargen
States and territories established in 1973
1973 establishments in the Philippines
Establishments by Philippine presidential decree