Maguindanao is a province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Since 2014 the provincial capital is Buluan but the legislative branch of the provincial government,the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,convenes in the old provincial capitol in the town of Sultan Kudarat. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north,Cotabato to the east,Sultan Kudarat to the south,and the Illana Bay to the west.
Ampatuan,officially the Municipality of Ampatuan,is a 4th class municipality in the province of Maguindanao,Philippines. According to the 2020 census,it has a population of 28,941 people.
Shariff Aguak,officially the Municipality of Shariff Aguak,is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Maguindanao,Philippines. According to the 2020 census,it has a population of 33,982 people.
Sultan Kudarat,officially the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat,is a 1st class municipality and legislative capital of the province of Maguindanao,Philippines. According to the 2020 census,it has a population of 105,121 people.
The Maguindanao people are part of the wider Moro ethnic group,who constitute the sixth largest Filipino ethnic group. Their name means “people of the flood plains”.
The Sultanate of Maguindanao was a Sultanate state that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao,in southern Philippines,especially in modern-day Maguindanao province and Davao City. Its known historical influence stretches from the peninsula of Zamboanga to the bay of Sarangani. During the era of European colonization,the Sultanate maintained friendly relations with British and Dutch traders.
The legislative districts of Maguindanao are the representations of the province of Maguindanao and the independent component city of Cotabato in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province and the city are currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through their first and second congressional districts.
Shariff Kabunsuan was a short-lived province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that existed from 2006 to 2008. Its designated seat of government was Datu Odin Sinsuat. Initially comprising ten municipalities carved out of Maguindanao,Shariff Kabunsuan was created by virtue of Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201;this law was nullified by the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2008,thus disestablishing the province.
The Shariff Kabunsuan creation plebiscite was a plebiscite on the creation of the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan in the Philippines. The plebiscite was conducted on October 28,2006 and results were announced on October 31,2006.
Hon. Pakung S. Mandudadatu,also known as Sultan Omar Pax Mangudadatu of the Sultanate Royal House of Rajah Buayan,is a Filipino politician who is the provincial governor of Sultan Kudarat since 2016. He also served the same post from 1998 to 2007 and was elected Representative of the 1st district of Sultan Kudarat with Tacurong under the administration's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) party in 2007.
Sema v. COMELEC and Dilangalen is a court case that was ruled on by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on 16 July 2008. It was consolidated with Marquez v. COMELEC. It held that the Regional Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao does not have the power to create provinces and cities. Thus,the creation of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan was unconstitutional ab initio and that province no longer exists as a political entity in the Philippines. All its employees and officials,elected or otherwise,were declared as not holding validly created offices.
Michael O. Mastura is a Philippine lawyer,author,and lecturer. He is a descendant of the 16th-century monarch Muhammad Kudarat,also known as Sultan Kudarat of Maguindanao. He served as Representative of the First District of Maguindanao and Cotabato City from 1987 to 1995.
The Maguindanao massacre,also known as the Ampatuan massacre,named after the town where mass graves of victims were found,occurred on the morning of November 23,2009,in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province,on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The 58 victims were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu,vice mayor of Buluan,when they were kidnapped and later killed. Mangudadatu was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.,son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and member of one of Mindanao's leading Muslim political clans,in the forthcoming Maguindanao gubernatorial election,part of the national elections in 2010. The people killed included Mangudadatu's wife,his two sisters,journalists,lawyers,aides,and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.
Esmael "Toto" Gaguil Mangudadatu is a Filipino politician serving as the representative of Maguindanao's 2nd district since 2019. He previously served as the governor of Maguindanao from 2010 to 2019. In Buluan town,he served as the mayor from 1998 to 2007,and vice mayor from 2007 to 2010.
Andal "Datu Unsay" Uy Ampatuan Jr. is a Filipino convicted mass murderer and former politician. He is one of the main perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre along with his father,brothers,and nephews. At the time of the massacre,he was the outgoing mayor of Datu Unsay,Maguindanao,and was planning to run for provincial governor,the position his father,Andal Sr.,was set to vacate. Esmael Mangudadatu,from a rival political clan,declared his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial elections thus challenging Ampatuan for the post. The Ampatuans carried out the massacre to kill Mangudadatu.
Ansaruddin Abdul Malik "Hooky" Alonto Adiong is a Filipino politician serving as the representative of Lanao del Sur's 1st district since 2013. He was elected vice governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2005. After Governor Zaldy Ampatuan's removal from office in 2009,Adiong became the acting governor until 2011.
Datu Zacaria A. Candao is a Filipino politician who served as the first governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The Midsayap–Marbel Road,also known as Makar–Dulawan–Midsayap–Marbel Road is a 101-kilometre,two-to-four lane highway that connects the provinces of North Cotabato,Maguindanao,Sultan Kudarat,and South Cotabato. It is classified as a national secondary highway for Mindanao. It lessens the travel time from North Cotabato to South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat via Midsayap.
The Maguindanao division plebiscite will be held in the province of Maguindanao,Philippines within four months after the May 9,2022,national and local elections,having been postponed from its planned plebiscite in or before August 2021. In terms of dates,the plebiscite is to be held no later than September 9. As required by Republic Act No. 11550,it will be conducted to consent the residents of Maguindanao on the proposal to divide the province into two separate provinces which will be named Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.
