Kidapawan

Many proposed etymologies have been recorded to explain the origin of Kidapawan's name over the decades. In 2017, Karlo Antonio Galay David gathered all written and oral explanations from archival sources and tribal key informants. Galay David gathered thirteen proposed etymologies, and of these thirteen, six are about springs, three are about weddings, three are about highlands, two are names, and three are directional and imply the act of going. The etymologies are listed as follows:[6]

The city of Kidapawan is politically subdivided into 40 barangays. [2]

Kidapawan is located at the foot of Mount Apo in the south-eastern section of Cotabato province, placed in the middle of other major cities of General Santos, Davao City, Cotabato City and Cagayan de Oro. It borders the other towns of Cotabato province, namely: Magpet and President Roxas to the north, Matalam to the west, M’lang to the south and Makilala to the east.

Kidapawan covers a total land area of 358.47 square kilometres (138.41 sq mi). Much of its land area was mostly flat, except for the increasingly hilly and mountainous areas to the northeast near Mount Apo which is the highest point in the Philippines. The Kabacan River has its source in the northeastern part of the city and flows through across its northern border with Magpet town.

Kidapawan lies outside the typhoon belt and has a mild climate characterized by wet and dry seasons. The coldest months are December and January. The hottest are April and May.

In the 2015 census, the population of Kidapawan was 140,195 people, [3] with a density of 390 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,000 inhabitants per square mile.

In the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 125,447 people, [8] up 117,610 from in 2007. The religion is predominantly Christian, although there are many Muslims residing in the city as well. The main languages are Cebuano and Hiligaynon, while English functions as a secondary language. Other languages spoken include Maguindanao, Obo, Ilianen, and Tagabawa.

Obo-monuvu, Cebuanos and Hiligaynons are the major ethnic groups in the city. Other ethnic groups residing in the area are the Ilocanos, Maguindanaons and Manobo groups of Obo, Ilianen, and Tagabawa. Cebuano is the most widely spoken language, especially in the city proper. English is used as the medium of instruction in schools and other learning institutions; it is also predominantly used in major government agencies in their transactions and reports. Laws and ordinances in the city are all written in English.

The Greater Kidapawan Area was originally a vast area that covered much of the north-eastern part of North Cotabato. When it was created a municipality, Kidapawan extended from the Pulangi River in Kabacan to the west, The Matanao River bordering Davao to the east, Bukidnon province to the north, and Buluan to the south.[11]

Kidapawan has its roots in pre-colonial settlements of the Obo Monuvu, the indigenous peoples that have lived at the foot of Mt Apo on both the Cotabato and Davao sides for generations. The Monuvu, along with other tribes in the area with whom they frequently intermarried, remained independent throughout the Spanish colonial period, as the Spaniards were never able to surmount Mt Apo on the Davao side nor penetrate beyond the Ligawasan Marsh on the Cotabato side. The chieftains of the tribes in the Greater Kidapawan Area remained independent but maintained relations with the nearby Maguindanaon sultanates, the closest of which were the Sultanate of Buayan in Dulawan (today Datu Piang, Maguindanao), and its related settlement, the Sultanate of Bagua Inged in what is today Pikit and Pagalungan. The Monuvu settlements, the precursors of many of Kidapawan's modern day Baranggays, existed autonomously with one another but were ruled by chieftains often related by centuries of intermarriage.

Some time before the coming of the Americans, the different tribal settlements west of the Matanao river apparently fell under the influence of a Datu Ingkal (in some sources he is named Datu Ingkal Ugok), who became paramount chieftain over the different settlements within the Kidapawan area. When the Americans came they recognized Datu Ingkal's leadership, and records say he was appointed ‘Capitan’ by a Col. Stevens in 1908, presumably as head of a tribal ward under what was then the Cotabato District of the Moro Province[12]

When Datu Ampatuan of Maganoy threatened to stage a rebellion against the Americans in 1913, Datu Ingkal is recorded as threatening to side with him. The Americans sought to pacify the two datus by offering appointments and administrative arrangements.[13][14]

By 1914, Datu Ingkal's territory, Kidapawan, would be formed into a Municipal District, one of twenty seven under the newly created Cotabato Province of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Datu Siawan Ingkal, son of Datu Ingkal Ugok, would be appointed Municipal District President. The Cornejo Commonwealth Directory of 1939, published under the newly elected Quezon government, still names Datu Siawan as District President, with Datu Amag Madut as vice president.

Kidapawan's establishment as a Municipal District paved the way for settlers from Luzon and Visayas to come over the succeeding decades up until the 1960s. Kidapawan was not a planned colony, but it was surrounded by planned colonies on both sides, thus encouraging individual migration: Davao, a Spanish colony in the late 1800s, Pikit, an agricultural colony set up by the Americans, the settlements of the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) in what is today South Cotabato, and much later the colony of Alamada under Magsaysay's National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA). The diverse ethnic composition of Kidapawan's settler population, with Cebuanos, Tagalogs, Ilonggos, Chinese, and Igorots, reflect both the gradual individual efforts of migrants and Kidapawan's position as the transition area between Cebuano-dominated Davao and Ilonggo-dominated Cotabato.

There are conflicting accounts as to where the original center of Kidapawan was before the War. Tribal and settler sources name either Manongol (for a time called ‘Old Kidapawan’) or Lanao as centers, with some sources identifying Lanao as the commercial center of the town where the settlers concentrated, with Manongol the seat of Siawan Ingkal's chieftaincy.

The details of Kidapawan's arrangements during the Second World War are unclear, but it seems to have been one of the Municipal Districts elevated in 1942 to Municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 43 of the Japanese-sponsored Executive Commission.

No records attest to it, but informants (primary among them Rosita Blanco Cadungog) names Filomeno Blanco as the local appointed Mayor by the Japanese during their occupation of Kidapawan. There are even less details on the arrangements of the resistance government, but Kidapawan fell under the command of Datu Udtog Matalam, who with his Bolo Batallion led the Cotabato region's guerrilla movement. Records indicate that in 1942 Alfonso O. Angeles Sr. had been appointed ‘Mayor of the Upper Cotabato Sector,’ to which Kidapawan presumably belonged, while the Paclibar family describes a ‘Civil Emergency Administration’ in M’lang under the 118th Infantry Regiment of the 106th Division of Wendell Fertig's 10th Military District (the resistance detachment in Mindanao during the War), headed by Jacinto Paclibar.[11]

When the War ended, Kidapawan's administrative status was in limbo, but in all likelihood it was reverted to Municipal District. No documents also confirm it, but informants like Erlinda Villanueva Asuelo name Ceferino J. Villanueva as acting mayor after the War up to the election of 1947.

In 1947 Kidapawan was among the ten municipalities created by Executive Order No. 82, signed on 18 August 1947 by Manuel A. Roxas. The newly created Municipality ‘consist of the territory comprised in the municipal districts of Kidapawan together with the unexplored region north of this municipal district to the boundary of Davao province on the east and Bukidnon province on the north, and Pulangi River on the west, and M’lang which is at present a part of the municipal district of Buluan.’

The election of 1947 resulted in the victory of Alfonso O. Angeles Sr. The first elected Vice Mayor was Datu Siawan Ingkal, while the first elected Councilors were Gil dela Cruz, Lorenzo A. Saniel, Lino Madrid, Ricardo Ipong, Norberto Cajucom, and Arsenio Sibug. The first Municipal Government began functioning in 1948.

The vast area of the original municipality of Kidapawan was partitioned bit by bit over the next two decades, with the municipality of M'lang first separating in 1951, followed by the municipality of Makilala in 1954, the municipality of Matalam in 1961, the municipality of Magpet in 1963, and the municipality of President Roxas in 1967.

Kidapawan's historical territory is now composed of eight towns in the province: Kidapawan itself, M’lang, Makilala, parts of Matalam, Magpet, President Roxas, Antipas, Tulunan and Arakan, along with the portion of Bansalan east of the Matanao River. When the second partitioning of the Empire Province of Cotabato happened in the 1970s, Kidapawan became the provincial capital of the much-reduced Cotabato Province (now colloquially called North Cotabato) by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 341, issued by Ferdinand Marcos on 22 November 1973.

As early as 1951 Kidapawan's successive governments had made attempts to become a city, but it was not until 1998 that it finally achieved this. Republic Act 8500, authored by then North Cotabato Second District Representative Gregorio Andolana, was signed by Fidel V. Ramos on 12 February 1998. The last Municipal mayor, Luis P. Malaluan, was elected Kidapawan's first city mayor.

City Hall of Kidapawan

The city of Kidapawan is governed by the city mayor, the city's local chief executive and administrative officer, along with the city vice mayor. The Sangguniang Panlungsod serves as the local legislative body of the city. Kidapawan is also the seat of the provincial government of the province of Cotabato, with the provincial capitol being located at Barangay Amas in the western portion of the city.

The city is considered as the province's industrial hub, and plays a pivotal role in the economic development of the province and its adjacent areas. It is the commercial and trading hub of eastern Cotabato province as it lies at the heart of three large domestic markets of Davao City, General Santos City, and Cotabato City.

Commercial retail centers

Gaisano Grand Mall of Kidapawan

The city of Kidapawan boasts the most number of shopping and retail centers in the whole province of Cotabato. Gaisano Grand Mall of Kidapawan,[16] the largest shopping center in the city, is located at Purok 1, Barangay Lanao in the northern part of the city's urban core, while the KMCC Shopping Center is located at Dayao St., deep into the city's main thoroughfare. Other retail centers include Davao Central Warehouse Club Inc. located in National Highway, and Survive Marketing and Sugni Superstore both located at Quezon Boulevard.

Foot of Mt. Apo

Lake Venado

Located in Kidapawan is the Paniki Falls Eco-River Park located at Umpan Village, Barangay Balabag. Kidapawan is also one of the most well-known starting points for trekking on Mount Apo via the city's Lake Agco in Barangay Ilomavis,[20] Kidapawan-Santa Cruz,[21] and Kidapawan-Magpet trails[22] which towers at 10,311 feet (3,143 m) above sea level with a total area of 14.6 square metres (157 sq ft). The country's tallest peak is an abode to the almost extinct Philippine eagle.[23][24] Within the Mt. Apo Natural Park is the Mandarangan Geological Site which is being promoted as a major educational tourism site. Lake Venado, hidden among the mountain ranges, stands at an elevation of 7,200 feet (2,200 m) above sea level.

Another tourist destination in this city is Kansal Falls located at Sitio Lapaan in Barangay Perez in the eastern part of the city. The water from the Kansal Falls is the source of North Cotabato's Metro Kidapawan Water District Dam. The water rushing through Kansal Falls comes from the various mountain springs of Mt. Apo. This waterfall is the source of Kidapawan City's water supply.

Identified by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command as conflict-affected area which has the presence of CPP-NPA and BIFF, the list below are the recent incidents happened in the city.

• Road side blast Improvise Explosive Device (IED) bomb burst along the national highway in Barangay Marbel, leaving three (3) cops wounded around 2 p.m of May 26, 2017. New Peoples’ Army (NPA) Guerilla Front 53 was behind the said attacks.[42]
• The 2017 Kidapawan jail siege occurred when about a hundred unidentified armed men attacked the North Cotabato Provincial Jail in Kidapawan, Philippines at around midnight freeing at least 158 inmates. Five inmates, a barangay official and a prison guard died in the siege. The jail break resulting from the attack is reportedly the biggest in the history of North Cotabato.
• 2016 Kidapawan protests - For three days from March 30, 2016, thousands of farmers and their supporters blockaded the Davao-Cotabato Highway in Kidapawan, North Cotabato. A day before prior to the road blockade, 500 farmers protest in front of the National Food Authority Office in Kidapawan to air their grievances. The demonstration ended violently with at least three deaths on the side of the protesters and a total of 116 injured on both sides after the police dispersed the mass action.

• Kidapawan Medical Specialist Center
• Kidapawan Doctors Hospital Inc.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kidapawan City.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kidapawan.

• Kidapawan Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code