Cotabato derives its name from the Maguindanaokuta wato (from Malay - "Kota Batu"), meaning "stone fort", referring to the stone fort which served as the seat of Sultan Muhammad Kudarat in what is now Cotabato City.
Islam was introduced in this part of the country in the later part of 15th century by Sharif Mohammed Kabungsuwan, an Arabo-Malay Muslim warrior-missionary. Sharif Kabungsuwan invaded Malabang in 1475, facing armed resistance from the non-Muslim natives, nevertheless successfully vanquishing and subjugating them to his (Islamic) rule through the might of his Samal warriors.
Modern historians have pointed to the Cotabato delta as the medieval location of Toupo, the successor of the Maguindanao/Cotabato Sultanate.
Spanish occupation
Christianity was introduced in 1596, but the Spaniards were unable to penetrate into the region until the second half of the 19th century. The district of Cotabato was formed in 1862, covering the areas of what is now Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces with its capital at Tamontaka. Fort Pikit was established by the Spaniards in 1893 as they continued their conquest of the remnants of Maguindanao Sultanate, which would soon be the site of one of the province's oldest towns, Pikit.
Cotabato City, an independent city geographically located in Maguindanao but statistically grouped under the Cotabato province
Other
Cotabato Province (1914-1973), a former province in the Philippines comprising what are now the provinces of Maguindanao, (North) Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in the island of Mindanao
the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cotabato, an ecclesiastical territory or diocese which covers (North) Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and Cotabato City
They threw it down To the other You should be proud You've been up so long You'll never be down I saw you standing there With a smile in your hair We're coming down (?)
AUTHORITIES arrested four Chinese nationals allegedly involved in fraud and smuggling during a law enforcement operation in NorthCotabato, the military said on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 ... North Cotabato.
Four Chinese nationals were apprehended over their alleged involvement in fraud and smuggling activities during a law enforcement operation in Barangay NuevaVida, M’lang, Cotabato on Monday, March 24, 2025. ... .
MANILA, Philippines — CotabatoCity in Mindanao is forecast to experience the highest heat index at 43 degrees Celsius (°C) on Saturday (March 22) ... .
Policemen and local officials on Thursday, March 20, seized some P8 million worth of imported cigarettes piled inside a van-type 10-wheeler truck found abandoned along a highway in Kabacan town in Cotabato....
A police team seized P1.8 million worth of shabu found in the hideout in Barangay Tukakanes in CotabatoCity of a man wanted for murder, arrested at dusk Wednesday, March 19 ....
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Cotabato Gov ... Cotabato was No ... Cotabato introduced the RiceRevolutionProgram (RRP), a convergence initiative built on convergence, collaboration, and cooperation principles.
The commandant of the Navy’s Philippine Marine Corps on Monday, March 10, installed a new commander of their battalion helping the Army and police secure all of the 37 barangays in CotabatoCity, the regional capital of the Bangsamoro region.