Shariff Aguak, officially the Municipality of Shariff Aguak ( Maguindanaoan: ''Kuta Shariff Aguak''), is a

municipality 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' ...

in the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 33,982. It is formerly known as Maganoy. Despite only being the ''de jure'' (by law) seat of Maguindanao's provincial government from 1973 to 1977, the town—being home to several previous governors—has served as the ''de facto'' (by practice) capital during the governorships of Sandiale Sambolawan (1980–1986), Andal Ampatuan, Sr. (2001–2008) and Sajid Ampatuan (2008–2009).

History

Shariff Aguak was founded as Maganoy in September 11, 1963, when President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

signed Executive Order No. 47 stipulating the creation of the municipality within the old 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 ...

. It was created from the southern 28 barangays of Datu Piang. The town's name was changed from ''Maganoy'' to ''Shariff Aguak'' by virtue of ''Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 45'' in 1996. On July 30, 2009, upon the ratification of Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Acts No. 225 (as amended by MMAA 252) and MMAA 220, the municipalities of

Shariff Saydona Mustapha Shariff Saydona Mustapha, officially the Municipality of Shariff Saydona Mustapha ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Shariff Saydona Mustapha''; Iranun: ''Inged a Shariff Saydona Mustapha''; ), is a municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Sur, Ph ...

and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, respectively, were created from a total of 13 barangays of the 26 Shariff Aguak, in addition to other barangays from Datu Piang, Datu Saudi-Ampatuan, Datu Unsay and

Mamasapano Mamasapano, officially the Municipality of Mamasapano (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Ingud nu Mamasapano''; Iranun language, Iranun: ''Inged a Mamasapano''; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Provinc ...

. Shariff Aguak (then Maganoy) was Maguindanao's provincial capital from its creation in 1973 to 1977. In 1977,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

moved the province's seat of government to the municipality of

Sultan Kudarat Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Ku ...

by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1170. Batas Pambansa Blg. 211, enacted in 1982, aimed to formally restore the status of Maganoy as Maguindanao's seat of provincial government but the plebiscite scheduled for December 18, 1982 was never administered, thereby making the law not legally binding. However, the town has served as the ''de facto'' capital during the tenure of previous governors who hails from the town. By law (''de jure''), Sultan Kudarat was historically recognized as the capital of Maguindanao from 1977 until 2014 when the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Maguindanao approved a resolution formally recognizing Buluan as the new provincial capital. In 2019 incumbent Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu expressed plans to move the provincial capitol back to Shariff Aguak. Pending the completion of the new provincial capitol complex at Buluan, the executive branch of provincial government holds offices in that town's Rajah Buayan Silongan Peace Center. On the other hand, the legislative branch of provincial government, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Maguindanao, continues to hold sessions in the rehabilitated buildings of the old provincial capitol in Barangay Simuay Crossing in the town of Sultan Kudarat. The Ampatuan-built former provincial capitol complex in Shariff Aguak, initially planned to be converted for public school use, is set to become the new regional headquarters of ARMM's Bureau of Fire Protection but eventually became an infantry brigade of the Philippine Army.

Geography

Barangays

Shariff Aguak is politically subdivided into 13

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. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. *Bagong *Bialong *Kuloy *Labu-labu *Lapok (''Lepok'') *Malingao *Poblacion *Poblacion I *Poblacion II *Satan *Tapikan *Timbangan *Tina

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Poverty Incidence of

Government

List of former chief executives

# Datu Akilan Ampatuan # Datu Pinagayaw Ampatuan # Datu Zainudin Ampatuan # Datu Rustom Upam Ampatuan # Datu Andal Salibo Ampatuan Sr.(1988–1998) # Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (2001–2005) # Datu Anwar Uy Ampatuan (2005–2009) # Datu Monir Ampatuan Asim Jr. (2009–2010) # Bai Zahara Upam Ampatuan (2010–2015) # Datu Marop Baganian Ampatuan (2015–2021) # Akmad Ampatuan (2022–present)

References

External links

Shariff Aguak Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive IndexMMA Act No. 45 : An Act changing the Name of the Municipality of Maganoy in the Province of Maguindanao into Municipality of Shariff Aguak
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>2000 Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Maguindanao del Sur Former provincial capitals of the Philippines Political divisions established by Philippine executive order