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Fort Pikit is a historic fortification in Malidegao,
Fort Pikit was built in 1893 by the Spanish at the time the Spanish colonial government was actively launching a campaign against the Moro in Mindanao. When the United States took over the administration of the Philippines from Spain, the American colonial government gained control of the fort in 1902 and used it their own campaign in Mindanao. Still within the American colonial period, the
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 ...
, Philippines.
Background
Fort Pikit is a Spanish colonial era stone fortification which was built in what is now known as the town of Malidegao inCotabato
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 ...
. The fortification consists of two towers installed with artillery batteries and a rubble wall which measures a side. It was intended to house a military officer, 60 infantrymen and 6 artillerymen by its Spanish builders.
It is situated at the back of the Municipal Hall of Pikit. on a hill facing the National Highway.
History
Fort Pikit was built in 1893 by the Spanish at the time the Spanish colonial government was actively launching a campaign against the Moro in Mindanao. When the United States took over the administration of the Philippines from Spain, the American colonial government gained control of the fort in 1902 and used it their own campaign in Mindanao. Still within the American colonial period, 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 ...
assumed control of the fort. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...
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 ...
the fort was seized by Imperial Japanese forces. The Allied forces regained control of the fort as part of their Eastern Mindanao campaign.
After the war, the fort was used by the Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...
and later the Philippine Marines. The marines vacated the facility in 2007.
The fortification was declared as a national landmark, the first in Cotabato province in 2012.
Heritage designation
TheNational Historical Commission of the Philippines
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...
(NHCP) designated Fort Pikit as a National Historical Landmark in 2012. Under the administration of Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, the provincial government of Cotabato worked for at least a year with the municipal government of Pikit under Mayor Sumulong Sultan for the designation. The NHCP sent a team to Fort Pikit on March 12, 2012 to conduct validation, investigation of historical facts related to the fortification. The agency declared Fort Pikit as national historical landmark two months later on April 24, 2012.
See also
* Philippines National Historical LandmarksNotes
References
{{Spanish fortifications in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Cotabato Spanish colonial fortifications in the Philippines Army installations of the Philippines Geography of Bangsamoro