Maguindanao Sultanate According to Maguindanao royal records,
Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan of
Johor introduced
Islam to the Maguindanaos at the end of the 15th century. He subsequently married a
Maranao princess of Malabang and established the
Sultanate of Maguindanao. Its capital of Kuta Watu (modern-day Cotabato) formed the sultanate's heartland but its influence extended from the
Zamboanga Peninsula to
Sarangani Bay and
Davao. In the 1660s, Dutch vessels from Ternate and Tidore often stopped by Maguindanao to purchase rice, beeswax and tobacco.
Spanish attacks The Spanish frequently attacked the sultanate starting in the 1600s. In the middle of the 19th century, the Spanish were able to build a military post at what is now Barangay Tamontaka,
Cotabato City.
American rule The
historical province of Cotabato covered the present area of Maguindanao. In 1903, the
American colonial government established the
Moro Province and made Cotabato as one of its districts. Upon the conversion of the Moro Province into the
Department of Mindanao and Sulu in 1914, the districts were made into provinces.
World War II In 1942, the
Japanese forces first attacked what is now Maguindanao. In 1945, Maguindanao was liberated by allied
Philippine Commonwealth troops and
Maguindanaon guerrilla units after defeating the Japanese Imperial forces in the
Battle of Maguindanao during the
Second World War.
Third Philippine Republic onwards Reinstitution as a province The territory of the
old province of Cotabato was reduced in 1966 when several of its municipalities were separated from it and constituted into the newly created province of
South Cotabato. In 1973, Cotabato was dissolved when it was split to create three new provinces: Maguindanao,
(North) Cotabato and
Sultan Kudarat. Maguindanao was the only Muslim-majority province of the four created out of the original Cotabato Province. In 1989, majority of its voters opted to join the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao but
Cotabato City did not. Despite this, the city would later serve as the provisional capital of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and host line agency offices for the province. On August 23, 1992, 16 senior officers of the insurgent
Communist Party of the Philippines-
New People's Army (CPP-NPA) operating in the province were arrested by intelligence operatives of the
Philippine National Police, with officials considering it to be a significant hit against the organization's progress in the region.
Shariff Kabunsuan creation and nullification On October 31, 2006, Maguindanao voters
approved the creation of a new province to be composed of 10 towns from the province. Of more than 500,000 voters registered, 285,372 favored the creation of the province, and 8,802 voted against it. The new province,
Shariff Kabunsuan, established through
Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201 by the
ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly, became the country's 80th province and the 6th in the ARMM. It was composed of the towns of
Datu Odin Sinsuat,
Kabuntalan,
Upi,
Sultan Kudarat,
Datu Blah T. Sinsuat,
Sultan Mastura,
Parang,
Buldon,
Matanog and
Barira. However, in July 2008, the
Supreme Court, in an 8–6 vote, nullified the province's creation, restoring its municipalities to Maguindanao, ruling that "Only
Congress can create provinces and cities because the creation of provinces and cities necessarily includes the creation of legislative districts".
2009 election violence in 1999 On November 23, 2009, a 2010 gubernatorial election caravan supporting
Esmael Mangudadatu,
vice mayor of
Buluan, was attacked. Fifty-seven people were killed, including Mangudadatu's wife and sisters, supporters, local journalists, and bystanders. On December 4, 2009, a number of homes belonging to the Ampatuan political family were raided in connection with the massacre. President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo officially declared
martial law in the province of Maguindanao on December 5, 2009, Saturday morning. In a press conference past 7 am, Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita announced
Proclamation No. 1959 declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao, except for certain areas identified as
bailiwicks of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists. The declaration of
martial law led to the "arrests without warrants" of other members of the
Ampatuan clan who have been linked to the November 23 massacre of 58 civilians. On August 15, 2011, Mangudadatu and his convoy were ambushed as they were on their way to his birthday celebration.
Mamasapano clash On January 25, 2015, 44 members of the
Special Action Force were killed after they killed the
Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist
Zulkifli Abdhir aka Marwan, by allegedly
Moro Islamic Liberation Front and
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in
Mamasapano.
2016 El Niño In February 2016, Maguindanao experienced the effects of the
2014–16 El Niño, causing destruction on rice and corn fields due to drought. The province declared a state of calamity in response to the damages caused. Later in the
18th Congress, two new House bills were filed: one by First District Rep. Datu Roonie Sinsuat Sr., Sema's successor, seeking the creation of
Western Maguindanao; another by Second District Rep.
Esmael Mangudadatu with same naming proposal as Sema. A substitute bill was later authored by both
Maguindanao representatives along with
Tarlac Third District Rep. Noel Villanueva, and approved in the final reading in 2020. In the substitute bill in the House,
Northern Maguindanao will consist the municipalities that became part of
Shariff Kabunsuan along with
Talitay, and its designated provincial capital will be
Datu Odin Sinsuat, while the capital of
Southern Maguindanao will be
Buluan. Both proposed provinces will comprise a lone legislative district. Prior to the final version, the municipalities of
Datu Anggal Midtimbang (by Sema and Mangudadatu) and
South Upi (by Sinsuat) were proposed to became part of
Maguindanao North/Western Maguindanao;
Sultan Kudarat was proposed by Mangudadatu to be the capital of the then-proposed province. The proposed division was signed by Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte on May 27, 2021, as
Republic Act No. 11550, with new provinces to be named
Maguindanao del Norte and
Maguindanao del Sur (named as the mother province of Maguindanao). The original schedule of the plebiscite, to be supervised by the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC), was in September 2021, ninety days after the effectivity of the law, but was postponed as the COMELEC was preparing for the
2022 general election.
RA No. 11550 was ratified on September 17, 2022, in a plebiscite, thus dividing Maguindanao on January 9, 2023. Among the province-wide plebiscites, it was the most participated in terms of number of registered and actual voters, with the voter turnout as the second highest, only behind that of the 1998 plebiscite creating and taking
Compostela Valley from
Davao del Norte. With that division,
the number of provinces in the country has raised to 82. A transition period would take place which lasted until January 9, 2023. ==Geography==