Banisilan accidentally acquired its name from a type of fresh water shell called the Banisil which were then abundant in the area. Before Banisilan was created as a separate municipality from Carmen, its mother town, President
Ramon Magsaysay signed Proclamation No. 317 dated July 17, 1956 reserving an area of 100,018 hectares of land for a resettlement project which was under the general administration (NARRA) now known as the Department of Agrarian Reform. This resettlement project covers three (3) municipalities and part of these is the North Cotabato Resettlement Project No. 1. As years passed, hundreds of landless and qualified citizens coming from almost all parts of the country were resettled in the area. On March 19, 1959, the first batch of settlers from Panay called SAKADA, headed by Jesus T. Alisasis who become the first Vice Mayor, set foot in Banisilan and in the succeeding months, other tribes from Luzon followed. On February 8, 1982,
Batas Pambansa Blg. 141 was approved; twelve
barangays in
Carmen were separated to create
Banisilan, with one with the same name designated
the seat of government. A plebiscite for ratification, along with ten more newly created
local entities including nearby
Aleosan, was held on May 17, coinciding with
the barangay elections.
Possible isolation due to future establishment of Bangsamoro During the 2001 Referendum for inclusion to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, two (2) out of twenty-eight (28) barangays of
Carmen, Cotabato chose to be part of ARMM, but were excluded because they are not connected to the main region of ARMM. During 2010-2016 Administration, the Bangsamoro ideal sprouted and a newly proposed region was in the making. According to the agreements signed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Administration of Noynoy Aquino, Carmen will be included in Bangsamoro because of the two out of twenty-eight barangays that voted in favor of joining the Muslim region back in 2001. Unfortunately, Bangsamoro was not implemented before the term of Aquino ended. Despite this, the current administration aims to establish a Federal Government, where Bangamoro will be realized into a State of the Philippines wherein Carmen will be included in Bangsamoro. Plans to establish a new municipality in the south of Carmen so that the indigenous and Christian central and northern part of Carmen will be retained in North Cotabato has yet to be confirmed. The idea arose because once the entire municipality of Carmen is included in Bangsamoro, the province of North Cotabato will be cut into half, leaving three towns (Banisilan,
Alamada, and
Libungan) at its west without connection to the center of North Cotabato, isolating these towns in the process. ==Geography==