Fort Pikit is a historic fortification in
Pikit
Pikit, officially the Municipality of Pikit (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Pikit'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ڤيكيت; Iranun language, Iranun: ''Inged a Pikit'', ايڠايد ا ڤيكيت; Hiligaynon language, H ...
,
Cotabato
Cotabato or North Cotabato ( hil, Aminhan Cotabato; ceb, Amihanang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pangutaran Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤڠوترن كوتاواتو; fil, Hilagang Cotabato), officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in ...
, Philippines.
Background
Fort Pikit is a Spanish colonial era stone fortification.
in
Pikit
Pikit, officially the Municipality of Pikit (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Pikit'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ڤيكيت; Iranun language, Iranun: ''Inged a Pikit'', ايڠايد ا ڤيكيت; Hiligaynon language, H ...
,
Cotabato
Cotabato or North Cotabato ( hil, Aminhan Cotabato; ceb, Amihanang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pangutaran Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤڠوترن كوتاواتو; fil, Hilagang Cotabato), officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in ...
. 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.
Fort Pikit is part of the town's barangay of the same name which is one of the
63 barangays in Cotabato province which are part of the Bangsamoro region rather than
Soccsksargen, the region where Pikit and Cotabato province the parent municipality and province of Pikit town is a part of.
It is situated at the back of the Pikit Municipal Hall
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 assumed control of the fort.
During the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines of
World War II 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 and later the
Philippine Marines
The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) ( fil, Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is the marine corps of the Philippines, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special ope ...
. The marines vacated the fort in 2007.
The fortification was declared as a national landmark, the first in Cotabato province in 2012.
Heritage designation
The
National Historical Commission of the Philippines
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...
(NHCP) has designated Fort Pikit as a
National Historical Landmark. It gave the site the designation in 2012. Under the administration of Governor Emmylou Talino-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 Landmarks Philippines National Historic Landmarks is a registry of historic sites in the Philippines that have been officially declared by the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.
There appear to be about 120 of them, as of August 2018.ThPRCP's "blogspo ...
References
{{Spanish fortifications in the Philippines
Buildings and structures in Cotabato
Spanish Colonial Fortifications of the Philippines
Army installations of the Philippines
Geography of Bangsamoro