Soccsksargen << SOK sur jehn >> (pop. 4,901,486) is a region in the south-central part of the island of Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. It is one of the 17 administrative regions into which the Philippines is divided. Its name is an acronym for the region’s four provinces—(1) South Cotabato, (2) Cotabato (also known as North Cotabato), (3) Sultan Kudarat, and (4) Sarangani, along with one of its cities, General Santos. Soccsksargen is also sometimes called Central Mindanao.
The region has four cities: (1) General Santos, located geographically in South Cotabato; (2) Kidapawan, in Cotabato; (3) Koronadal, in South Cotabato; and (4) Tacurong, in Sultan Kudarat. Soccsksargen also has dozens of municipalities (towns) and over 1,000 barangays (villages or neighborhoods).
The province of Sarangani stretches along Mindanao’s southern coast. General Santos, the region’s largest city, is located in Sarangani Bay. Much of the population lives near the coasts. Sultan Kudarat extends inland from the west coast. It contains lush, green areas where vegetables and fruits flourish all year long. Cotabato and South Cotabato are large inland provinces.
People
Soccsksargen as a whole is thinly populated. It is the fifth largest region of the Philippines by land area, but only a small proportion of the Philippine population lives there. Almost a third of the region’s residents live in Cotabato. The regional center is Koronadal.
Ancestry.
Most people of Soccsksargen, like nearly all Filipinos, are of Malay ancestry. Malays are a group of Southeast Asian peoples whose ancestors have lived in the Philippines and neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia for thousands of years. Historically, those in the Philippines lived in small communities scattered across the narrow lowlands and adjacent forested areas. They shared certain cultural traits, while also developing languages and cultural practices that set them apart from each other.
Today, the Filipino population of Soccsksargen includes many Cebuanos, Ilonggos, Pampangos, and Tagalogs. Some smaller groups that have traditional roots in the area include the B’laan, Hiligaynon, Kalagan, Maguindanao, Manobo, and T’boli.
Language.
Widely spoken languages in the households of Soccsksargen include Cebuano and Hiligaynon. Most people also speak Filipino and are either fluent or semi-fluent in English, which are the two official national languages. Other native Philippine languages spoken in the region include B’laan, Ilocano, Kalagan, Maguindanao, Manobo, Maranao, Tagabawa, Tagakaulo, T’boli, and Tiruray.
Religion.
Roman Catholics make up the majority of the population. Most other people are Protestant Christians or Muslims.
Culture and attractions.
Soccsksargen has many cultural festivals and other attractions. The most popular is the Hinugyaw Festival, an annual celebration of the founding of the city of Koronadal. The nearby city of General Santos hosts an annual cultural festival called Kalilangan, which includes trade exhibitions and carnival rides.
Soccsksargen is known for its waterfalls, including Saravia Falls and Supon Falls in Koronadal. Other popular destinations in Koronadal include the El Gawel Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary and the largest water park in Mindanao, the Paraiso Verde Resort and Water Park. The Baras Bird Sanctuary in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, is home to thousands of cattle egrets and other herons.
Each December, Tacurong hosts its annual holiday Inugyunay Festival, in which buildings and trees are decked with lights and other colorful decorations. The Talakudong Festival, also called the Festival of Hats, is a popular city celebration in which people wear colorful costumes and headgear called talakudong.
Education.
National law requires children from 5 to 17 years old to attend school, from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The Department of Education provides free primary and secondary education. There are also many private schools. Teachers in the public elementary schools conduct classes in the local language for the first few years and then introduce instruction in English and Filipino. Most of the private schools teach in English. The high schools and universities mostly use English.
There are several public and private universities in Soccsksargen. Public universities include the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan and Mindanao State University in General Santos. Private universities include Notre Dame University campuses in General Santos, Kidapawan City, and Koronadal City.
Land and climate
Location and description.
Soccsksargen covers an area of 8,890 square miles (22,500 square kilometers) in south-central Mindanao. Its landscape varies considerably. It includes fertile inland river basins surrounded by hills and mountains, with some forest cover. Forests once covered about 90 percent of Mindanao, including Soccsksargen. However, unrestrained logging in the second half of the 1900’s drastically reduced the forestlands.
The interior province of South Cotabato has plains broken by hills and mountains. The mountains along its western border include Soccsksargen’s highest peak, Mount Matutum. This dormant volcano rises about 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) above sea level. It is part of the traditional home of the B’laan people. To the south and west, the highlands are fringed by coastal lowlands facing the Celebes Sea. To the north lies Cotabato, the largest province of Soccsksargen, containing about 40 percent of the region’s land. Mountains rise mainly in the north and west.
Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, rises to a height of 9,692 feet (2,954 meters) on the boundary between the Davao and Soccsksargen regions. Scientists classify Mount Apo as a semiactive volcano. Lava and ash from previous eruptions have made the soil on and near the mountain extremely fertile. The soil is particularly suitable for growing coconuts and abacá (a plant used to make a fiber called Manila hemp). The Philippine government declared Mount Apo a national park to protect its forests and wildlife.
Earthquakes, landslides, and other geologic hazards are common in Soccsksargen because of its location on active fault lines that are part of the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped zone around the edge of the Pacific Ocean that has many volcanoes and earthquakes. It stretches from New Zealand north through the Philippines and Japan, east to Alaska, and along the western edge of North and South America
Rivers and lakes.
Soccsksargen has many lakes and rivers. Lake Buluan, in Tacurong, is among the largest lakes in the Philippines. Kalaja River in General Santos irrigates the lowlands and is surrounded by limestone cliffs. There are many caves and waterfalls nearby. The Mawig Falls of Cotabato are the source of the Matingao River, known for its clear waters.
Lake Holon, in South Cotabato, lies in the crater of the volcano Mount Parker. The lake was created in 1641 when Mount Parker erupted. The lake is about 5,761 feet (1,756 meters) above sea level. It has been called the cleanest lake in the Philippines.
Lake Agco, in Kidapawan, is a natural lake of boiling, sulfuric mud. The lake feeds natural hot and cold springs. It lies about 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) above sea level in Mount Apo Natural Park.
Climate.
Soccsksargen, like all of the Philippines, has a tropical climate with high humidity and rainfall. The warmest months are March through May. The coolest is January. The temperature varies slightly from month to month. The nights are generally mild due to the land and sea breezes. The dry season runs from December to May.
Economy
The majority of workers in Soccsksargen are employed in agriculture and service industries. Fewer people work in manufacturing and construction, yet those industries still make up about a third of the region’s economy.
Soccsksargen’s leading fruit exports include bananas and pineapples. The region also exports coconut oil, copra (coconut meat), and coconut pellets, as well as abacá pulp, clothing, cut flowers, housewares, and such vegetables as asparagus and okra. Leading fishing industry exports include such aquaculture (fish-farming) and fishing products as octopus, shrimp, and tuna. 
Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
account for about a fourth of the region’s economy and more than two-fifths of employment. Agriculture is the main part of this economic sector. The region’s climate and fertile soil favor large-scale farming. Abacá, coconuts, coffee, corn, and rice are grown across the region.
South Cotabato is the region’s largest economic center. A large portion of the province is devoted to banana and pineapple plantations. The fruits are exported to China, Japan, Taiwan, and countries of the Middle East. There are smaller farms devoted to coffee, palm oil, peanuts, and tobacco, and such fruits as calamansi (Philippine lime), durian, lanzones, and mangoes. Many farms grow flowers, especially anthuriums, orchids, and roses. Coconut trees grow in all provinces, but almost half the region’s coconuts are grown in Sarangani. Other crops include cassava, guyabano, corn, palay (unhusked rice), sugarcane, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and such vegetables as cabbages, eggplants, onions, and string beans. 
Farmers raise such livestock as carabao (water buffalo), cattle, goats, and hogs. Poultry production includes chickens and ducks, as well as chicken and duck eggs.
The fishing industry’s products include milkfish, roundscad, seaweed, shrimp, skipjack, tilapia, and tuna. General Santos is known as the tuna capital of the Philippines.
Manufacturing and service industries.
Soccsksargen’s leading manufacturing industries produce chemicals, clothing, corn oil, fabricated metals, fertilizer, food and beverages, furniture, handicrafts, palm oil, pottery, textiles, and timber products. Almost half of the region’s workers are employed in service industries. Trade and real estate contribute the most to this sector of the economy. Banks, schools, and the government employ many people. Tourism, a major industry in Soccsksargen, benefits the region’s hotels, restaurants, and stores.
Transportation and communication.
Soccsksargen has two international airports, as well as several national airports. The region also has international and national seaports. The Makar Wharf in General Santos is an important port for Mindanao. The Mindanao Daily is a major regional newspaper, although people increasingly rely on information from the internet.
Government
Soccsksargen, like other regions in the Philippines, has a regional council for administrative management and developmental planning. Provinces are the main local government units within the region. Every province has an elected governor and vice governor, and an elected legislative body called a sangguniang panlalawigan. An elected mayor and council govern each city or municipality. Barangays are governed by elected barangay captains and councils.
Provincial, city, and municipal officials are elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than three consecutive terms. Barangay officials serve a fixed term of office that is determined by law.
Every Philippine city has a court. Each municipality has a judge who serves as the local judicial officer. Judges hold office until they reach the age of 70 or become unable to carry out their official duties.
History
For thousands of years, Philippine people have lived in the area that is now Soccsksargen. Traditionally, people lived in small barangays, each headed by a datu (leader). They traded extensively with China, India, and Southeast Asia. In the 1400’s, Muslim traders from Indonesia introduced Islam in the islands of the Sulu Archipelago, west of Soccsksargen. From there, they traveled to southwestern Mindanao and were instrumental in forming the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the early 1500’s. The sultanate’s territory was centered in what is now Soccsksargen.
In the 1500’s, Spain claimed the Philippines. In most of Mindanao, however, the Islamic sultanates resisted Spanish control. The sultanates fought the Spaniards, conducting raids on Spanish settlements. Highland tribes in central Mindanao also resisted Spanish intrusions. In the mid-1800s, however, the Spanish authorities governing the Philippines, aided by the new technology of steam-powered gunboats, finally defeated the sultanates.
Following Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War (1898), Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. The American government created the district of Cotabato in 1903 as part of a larger Moro Province. About ten years later, the American authorities subdivided the Moro Province area, and part of it became the new province of Cotabato. This large province contained the modern-day provinces of Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. It also included the province of Maguindanao, which is now part of another region—the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Filipino settlers from other parts of the Philippines began coming to Cotabato. In the 1930’s, for example, government-supported migrants from the island of Luzon settled what is now General Santos, displacing B’laan people, who then moved to the mountains. After World War II (1939-1945) ended and the Philippines became independent in 1946, the arrival of Filipinos from Luzon and the Visayan Islands increased. The Philippine government promoted this migration as a way to develop a sparsely populated territory. However, the policy also resulted in the displacement of local people. The newcomers, mostly Christians, eventually outnumbered the Muslims and Indigenous groups in many parts of the island, including what is now Soccsksargen. Some Muslim groups in Mindanao called for autonomy (self-rule) or independence for themselves, and fighting erupted in parts of the island during the 1970’s.
In 1975, the Philippine government formed the region of Central Mindanao. The provinces in that region have changed several times. In 1989, people in the largely Muslim province of Maguindanao voted to join the neighboring Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which was formed in response to Muslim demands for autonomy. However, Cotabato, a predominantly Muslim city in Maguindanao, chose to remain part of the Central Mindanao region.
On Sept. 19, 2001, the region of Central Mindanao became Soccsksargen, with the transfer of Sarangani and South Cotabato from the Southern Mindanao region. In 2019, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was created to replace ARMM. Cotabato City and some barangays in Soccsksargen became part of BARMM as a result of a plebiscite (vote) by the people in those areas.
