Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sarangani; hil, Kapuoran sang Sarangani;

Maguindanaon Maguindanao (, Jawi: ), Maguindanaon or Magindanao is an Austronesian language spoken by a majority of the population of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur in the Philippines. It is also spoken by sizable minorities in different par ...

: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi: دايرت نو سارڠني; fil, Lalawigan ng Sarangani), is a province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen region. Its capital is

Alabel Alabel, officially the Municipality of Alabel ( Cebuano: Lungsod sa Alabel; Filipino: Bayan ng Alabel; Maguindanao: Inged nu Alabil), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Sarangani, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

. With a coastline along the Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, the province is at the southernmost tip of Mindanao island, and borders

South Cotabato South Cotabato ( hil, Bagatnan Cotabato; ceb, Habagatang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pagabagatan Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤاڬابڬتن كوتاواتو; tl, Timog Cotabato), officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a province in the Philippine ...

and Davao del Sur to the north, Davao Occidental to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. Sarangani is part of the South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos () 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,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral Santos; Maguindanao language, Maguindanao: ''Ingud nu Heneral Santos''; Blaan language, Blaan: ''Banwe Dadiangas''; Tboli language, Tboli: ''Benwu Dadiangas'' ...

. The province is divided into two sections, separated by the Sarangani Bay and 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 formed out of neighboring provinces of

adding Metro General Santos adding Lake Sebu, Polomolok, T'Boli and

Tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipalit ...

History

The earliest civilization in the province can be found in Maitum, Sarangani, where the

Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery The Maitum anthropomorphic burial jars are earthenware secondary burial vessels discovered in 1991 by the National Museum of the Philippines' archaeological team in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Maitum, Sarangani Province, Mindanao, Philippines. Th ...

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 establishment of the Sultanate in the area cause of more Maguindanaon settlers arrival. After fall of the Sultanate of Maguindanao 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. The island of Sarangani (now part of Davao Occidental) was named by Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543 as ''Antonia'', in honor of Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco who commissioned the Villalobos expedition to the Philippines. 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

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 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 under the Japanese Occupation. Before its inception in 1992, Sarangani was part of

as the Third District of South Cotabato. The province was created by '' Republic Act No. 7228'' on March 16, 1992, penned by Congressman James L. Chiongbian. His wife, Priscilla L. Chiongbian, was the first Governor of Sarangani.

Geography

Sarangani covers a total area of occupying the southern tip of the Soccsksargen in central Mindanao. The province is bordered on the central-north by

, northeast by Davao del Sur, east by Davao Occidental, south by the Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, and northwest by Sultan Kudarat. Maitumcoastal

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 Maitum, officially the Municipality of Maitum ( ceb, Lungsod sa Maitum; tl, Bayan ng Maitum; mdh, Inged nu Maitum, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ماءيتوم), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sarangani, Philippines. According to the ...

, Kiamba, and Maasim, and is bounded on the north by

and on the northwest by Sultan Kudarat. The eastern section consists of

, Glan, Malapatan, and Malungon.

Administrative divisions

Sarangani comprises seven municipalities. 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 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and 31%

evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

). Other religious minorities are

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(9%) and Iglesia ni Cristo (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

Provincial Capitol, Sarangani Province, Philippines

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 Jar burials are human burials where the corpse is placed into a large earthenware and then is interred. Jar burials are a repeated pattern at a site or within an archaeological culture. When an anomalous burial is found in which a corpse or ...

, discovered by archaeologists from the

National Museum A national museum is 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 other countries a much greater numb ...

in ''Ayub Cave'' in

, in 1991 and in 2008, and at ''Sagel Cave'' in Maitum (now declared by National Historical Institute as a national historical site). Amid Mindanao's armed conflicts, artifacts found thereat prove settlements of pre-historic civilization in Maitum.

References

External links

* *
Official Website of the Provincial Government of Sarangani

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