BAHAY Pamahalaan is uniquely designed to showcase Maguindanaoan art.

Fanfare and pageantry mark the 59th founding anniversary of Cotabato City, the center of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), until end June.

Located in Maguindanao, Cotabato has more international influences than other parts of Mindanao. Hindu traders settled in Maguindanao and shared their practices with the various ethno-linguistic groups in the area. In the 15th century, Arab missionary Shariff Kabunsuan landed in Mindanao and introduced Islam. Muslim missionaries taught the arts and sciences and consequently established a community life that resulted in the Sultanate of Maguindanao. Under Sultan Daputian Qudarat in the 17th century, Cotabato City became the capital of Maguindanao and an affluent society.

The Spaniards eventually established a Christian settlement and military post. Cotabato City became Pueblo de Cotabato. The reign was short-lived when Datu Piang led the attack against the Spaniards and massacred Christians at the turn of the 20th century.

During the American Regime, Datu Piang became the first governor of the Empire Province of Cotabato or “Moroland.” Although the Japanese forces invaded Mindanao during World War 2, the Muslim Maguindanaon troops and the Philippine Commonwealth soldiers drove away the Japanese.

After the war, Cotabato City became a first-class municipality and one of Mindanao’s most progressive communities. It was proclaimed a chartered city on June 20, 1959 under Republic Act No. 2364.

The 2018 celebration kicked off during the Philippine Independence Day with daily cultural presentations, organized by the Department of Education, at the City Plaza, which ran through June 19. The Cotabato Toy Fair at the City Mall ran from June 14 to 17.

Sports competitions – taekwondo, table tennis, jiujitsu, super fights and lawn tennis— were held on June 15 in different venues. On June 16, Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi’s Culinary Competition was held at the People’s Palace, while the Sayaw, Cotabato dance workshop and dance competition was staged at the CCSPC Gym.

More sports events were set on June 17: Padyak Takbo Para sa Turismo at the People’s Palace and a boxing tournament at City Mall. Between sporting events on that day were entertainments such as the Cosplay Competition at City Mall and PaBingo sa Plaza at the City Plaza. A city celebration is incomplete without a beauty and brains pageant such as the Mutya ng Cotabato Talent Competition at Southseas Mall. This is a preliminary event to the finals.

On June 18, there was a whole-day boat race, Pagkuya ng Awang, at the Tamontaka River. Tinig Cotabato Choral Competition will at the City Mall.

Free legal services were offered at the People’s Palace on June 19. Meanwhile, the two-day competition of the best flowerhorn fish, titled Clash of the Kings, was shown at the City Mall. The 2018 Mutya ng Cotabato Pageant was held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex.

The founding day celebration on June 20 began with a military parade in the morning and the formal launch of “Sayaw, Cotabato,” the annual indigenous dance festival, showcasing the diversity of the city’s ethno-linguistic groups, as well as modern influences. The Davao-based DayBreak Band performed at the City Plaza. There was also a Halal Industry Development Forum at the Alnor Convention Center.

People of Cotabato rejoiced when the Philippine National Police declared their city the “second safest city in the whole Philippines.”

This report was recently released by the national police based on records by local police in the entire country on the crime incidences in their respective areas of responsibility during the first quarter of 2018. Cotabato City recorded only a total of 220 crimes from January to March this year.

Cotabato City came second to Ormoc City, which recorded a total of 134 crimes in the same period. Coming in third was Puerto Princesa with 227 crimes recorded.

City Mayor Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said this report didn’t come as a surprise, but still elated her all the same. Being an active advocate of peace and order, the Mayor said this record of being the second safest city in the country is a big leap for Cotabato City.

“I thought it was only in Region 12. When I heard about the report, I knew that all the efforts and hard work that we have been doing to maintain peace and order in the city have paid off,” the Mayor added.

During her stint as chief executive of Cotabato City, Mayor Guiani-Sayadi has continuously implemented the RONDA, a peacekeeping effort with the city PNP, the Task Force Kutawato, and the barangay force multipliers. The team roams around the different corners of the city on a daily basis and has been successful in aiding law enforcers in apprehending criminal elements in the city.

Because of the significant drop in crime incidences in just one year, the city’s economy has also grown rapidly. Investors, both local and foreign, have been flocking the city, with a group of Chinese businessmen committee to build the city’s airport and seaport being the latest.

“We have proven that Cotabato City can be safe for its people despite it being in the middle of insurgencies happening in its surrounding provinces,” the Mayor said.

Even the business communities in Cotabato City have expressed admiration for the efforts of the city government in making economic activities dynamic and vibrant once again.

“We have been waiting for this for years and seeing it happen today is truly incredible. Our warmest congratulations to Mayor Guiani-Sayadi and the city government of Cotabato,” businesswoman Bai Sandra Siang said.

Just recently, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also lauded the efforts of Mayor Guiani-Sayadi, the city police and the RONDA team, in ensuring the safety and security of Cotabato City during his courtesy visit to the city’s chief executive.

Earlier this year, Cotabato City was named the ‘safest city’ in region 12. With the new record, Cotabato City is now number one in the whole Mindanao.