SOCCSKSARGEN
SOCCSKSARGEN or Region XII is a Filipino region on the island of Mindanao.
The name is an acronym of the first letters of the provinces and cities SOuth Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The administrative center is located in the city of Koronadal City in the province of South Cotabato. The City Cotabato City is not to be confused with the province of Cotabato.
Cotabato City is surrounded by the province of Maguindanao, which is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( ARMM ). The city is also the seat of government of the ARMM, but they heard the SOCCSKSARGEN region.
Demography and language
According to the 2000 census, the provinces of SOCCSKSARGEN Region have a combined population of 3,222,169 inhabitants, equivalent to a population density of 170.3 people per km ².
The inhabitants of the provinces are mostly Muslim Filipinos who have defended their territory for centuries against Spanish, American and Philippine national interests.
In the 20th century, then settled many Christian immigrants, mostly from the Visayas, in the fields, without being able to create a being overweight. When the ARMM was established to summarize the Muslim majority provinces inhabited, yet voted many of the district SOCCSKSARGEN belonging provinces in the popular vote against membership in this new region.
In the region, dialect Tboli, Blaan, Cotabato Manobo and Tagabanwa are represented. But Philippine languages such as Cebuano and Tagalog are found spread.
Geography
The provinces of the region are all located in central and southern Mindanao. Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City are located on the Gulf of Moro and the Celebes Sea. South Cotabato as well as Cotabato are inland provinces of Zentralmindanao and have no access to the sea.
The region has an extensive coastline, numerous canyons and mountain ranges. The provinces of SOCCSKSARGEN are also known for their extensive river system in which the Ligawasan River marshes are, they are considered the " rain catch basin " of Mindanao.
The rivers provides an abundant supply of food, drinking water and usable energy. The province of Cotabato belongs to the Rio Grande de Mindanao on, the second longest river in the Philippines and the longest in Mindanao.
The total area of the region comprises 22,337 km ².
Administrative divisions
The region is divided into four provinces with a total of 45 administrative parishes. These in turn are divided into 1,194 barangays ( districts ). The province consists of six districts of Congress.
Provinces
Cities
History
The Region XII was known before 2001 or Central Mindanao, was established on 7 July 1975 by the Presidential Decree No. 742. It included at that time the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato (now Cotabato ), Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao.
Through the creation of the ARMM on 1 August 1989 Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao were spun off and assigned to the new autonomous region, after which residents had voted in a popular referendum on membership of the ARMM.
On 23 February 1995 Sultan Kudarat the Southern Mindanao region has been assigned ( Republic Act No. 7,901th ), around 1997 to return to Central Mindanao.
On 19 September 2001, the regions and provinces in Mindanao have been reorganized with the Executive Order No. 36 of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. As part of this policy redesign the province of Lanao del Norte and Marawi City, the city of Central Mindanao has been solved and the Northern region assigned to Mindanao. Simultaneously, the provinces Sarangani and South Cotabato were assigned to Region XII and this was given its present name, formed from the initial letters of all now associated provinces.
Economy
The main economic activity of the region is fishing. Especially the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani have access to the rich fishing grounds of the Celebes Sea and the Gulf of Moro. Furthermore, the region has a large number of productive rivers, lakes and streams.
In addition, the agriculture and forestry plays a significant role. 39.9 % of the total land area is agricultural. Here, coconut, pineapple, rubber, sugar cane, rice, corn, bananas and other fruits are the most widely grown in the provinces of agricultural products.
The central provinces have also mineral resources such as gold, copper, iron, chromium, silver, zinc, clay, limestone and phosphates.
Climate
During the months of June to October occur in areas of the region on some heavy rainfall. On the other hand there from February to June dry weather, in tropical temperatures between 24 ° and 29 ° C.
However, typhoons strip very rarely the district.
Cultural heritage
The indigenous ethnic group of Maguindanaon and other indigenous groups have a remarkable and fascinating culture that revolves around the kulintang music, a special Gong music that has its roots in both Muslim and non- Muslim populations of the southern Philippines.
The gong kulintang game consists of eight small gongs with whipped hump. They are arranged in a row horizontally in a frame, where they rest on strings. To play, you hit with two wooden mallets on his back and produced in this way each sound. At a kulintang ensemble of Magindanaon continue to include a large breitwandiger Gong ( Agung ), four large schmalrandige gongs ( gandingan ), a small gong ( Babendil ) and a big drum ( Dabakan ).
The musical culture of Maguindanaon is also known for its virtuoso player of the two-stringed boat lute kutiyapi.