Malingao

Cotabato City ranks third in bank deposits across all of Mindanao—₱88.66 billion—despite sitting in a region where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. This concentration of capital in a city of 325,000 reveals a keystone species dynamic: remove Cotabato City's commercial infrastructure and the entire Bangsamoro economic ecosystem loses its circulatory system.

The Maguindanao Sultanate governed this territory from the 16th century, resisting Spanish colonization so effectively that no European power ever fully controlled the interior. Islamic governance here predates Christian colonial authority by 300 years. Japan occupied Cotabato during World War II; the Philippines inherited a territory where sovereignty had always been contested. Decades of armed conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Philippine government killed over 120,000 people before the Bangsamoro Organic Law of 2018 created BARMM as a political resolution.

Cotabato City voted to join BARMM in the 2019 plebiscite (38,682 yes versus 24,994 no), a decision the Supreme Court upheld in 2023. The city functions as BARMM's commercial capital—hosting over 20 banks, major wet markets, and serving as the logistics node connecting Davao, General Santos, Zamboanga, and Cagayan de Oro. In 2019 alone, 1,368 new businesses registered, representing ₱1.2 billion in fresh investment. Annual income growth averaged 10.5% over five years.

The halal economy distinguishes Cotabato from other Philippine commercial hubs. A Class AA halal slaughterhouse serves all of Central Mindanao, positioning the city as the Philippines' halal gateway—a niche construction strategy that converts religious identity into competitive advantage—no other Philippine city can credibly claim this market. Fishponds spanning 1,700 hectares produce 500,000 kg annually of mangrove crabs, prawns, and milkfish. Like a mangrove forest that simultaneously stabilises coastlines and nurtures juvenile fish, Cotabato City anchors regional trade flows while incubating economic activity that feeds surrounding municipalities. Population has grown from 61,000 in 1970 to over 325,000—doubling roughly every 25 years—evidence that a city positioned at the intersection of competing power structures attracts growth precisely because every faction needs it to function.