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1 Geography
2 Political Divisions
3 Musical Heritage
4 References

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Region XII
SoCCSKSarGen
— Region —

Map of the Philippines showing the location of Region XII
Country Philippines
Island group Mindanao
Regional center Koronadal City, South Cotabato
Area
- Total 22,466 km² (8,674.2 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total 3,829,081
- Density 170.4/km² (441.4/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
Provinces 4
Cities 5
Municipalities 45
Barangays 1,194
Cong. districts 6
Languages English,Tagalog,Cebuano,Tboli, Blaan, Cotabato Manobo, Tagabanwa, others

SOCCSKSARGEN[1] (pronounced [sokˈsardʒɛn]) is a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and is officially designated as Region XII. The name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The regional center is Koronadal City located in the province of South Cotabato.[2] Cotabato City, though geographically within the boundaries of the province of Maguindanao, itself is part of SOCCSKSARGEN, and is independent of that province. Maguindanao province is a part of another special region called the ARMM which has its seat in Cotabato City. SOCCSKSARGEN and the province of Maguindanao were once part of the original Cotabato province.

Geography

The region has extensive coastlines, valleys and mountain ranges. Known for its river system, the region is the catch basin of Mindanao. The system is a rich source of food, potable water and energy production. Cotabato contains the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which is the longest river in Mindanao and the second longest in the Philippines.

The region used to be named Central Mindanao. Prior to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, these provinces comprised the region:

With the creation of ARMM, Lanao del Sur (excluding Marawi City) and Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato City) were removed from the region, leaving Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, and Marawi City and Cotabato City as constituent provinces and cities. Lanao del Norte was later transferred to Northern Mindanao, while Marawi City became part of the ARMM.

With the addition of South Cotabato and Sarangani, transferred from Southern Mindanao, the region was renamed as SOCCSKSARGEN. The "Central Mindanao" name lives on as a description to the provinces populated by Muslim Filipinos.

Political Divisions

Political map of SOCCSKSARGEN

Province/City Capital Population
(2000) Area
(km²) Pop. density
(per km²)
Cotabato Kidapawan City 958,643 6,565.9 146.0
Sarangani Alabel 410,622 2,980.0 137.8
South Cotabato Koronadal City 690,728 3,996.1 172.9
Sultan Kudarat Isulan 586,505 4,714.8 124.4

Cotabato City

‹The template Mn is being considered for deletion.› ^[1]

— 163,849 175.99 931.0
General Santos City

‹The template Mn is being considered for deletion.› ^[2]

— 411,822 492.86 835.6

‹The template Mnb is being considered for deletion.› 1. Cotabato City is independent of Maguindanao province, which is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The seat of the ARMM regional government is also in Cotabato City.

‹The template Mnb is being considered for deletion.› 2. General Santos City is a highly urbanized city; figures are excluded from South Cotabato.

Component Cities

Independent Component City

Cotabato City

Highly Urbanized City

General Santos City

NOTE: That Gen. Santos City is a highly urbanized city of South Cotabato not in Sarangani.

Musical Heritage

Main articles: Music of the Philippines and Kulintang

The native Maguindanaon and other native Muslim/non-Muslim groups have a fascinating culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found in the SoCCSKSarGen.