104 places · 7 areas

Places of the Bangsamoro

Islands and white sand, lakes in the highlands, mosques, falls and the old forts and houses of the sultanates: what is there, how to get there, and what to know before you go.

Ervin Malicdem · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo by Ervin Malicdem, CC BY-SA 4.0. Open the source file.

Beaches 6

Islands 11

Mosques 10

Lakes 5

Falls 5

Mountains 7

Nature 21

Heritage 22

Museums 5

Cities 2

Markets 2

Memory 8

Every place is traced to the pages it came from, and the guide’s own entries are the travel workspace’s. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons or English Wikipedia under free licences, each credited on the photo. 7 areas: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City and the Special Geographic Area.

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The fenced tomb of Datu Udtog Matalam with the old mosque's green minaret beside it.

Places · Heritage

Tomb of Datu Udtog Matalam and the Old Mosque

Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur

Also known as Old Mosque of Pagalungan

Provincial Government of Maguindanao del Sur · Philippine government workPhoto by Provincial Government of Maguindanao del Sur, Philippine government work. Open the source file.

Overview

The tomb of a former governor of the old Cotabato province, beside an old mosque in Pagalungan.

The tomb of Datu Udtog Matalam Sr., the first elected governor of the old Cotabato province, stands beside an old mosque in Pagalungan. The provincial government describes the 2 structures, side by side, as illustrating the old history of Central Mindanao, and credits Matalam with building harmonious relations between Muslims and Christian settlers in the region.

Matalam is also remembered for the manifesto he issued on 1 May 1968, 2 months after the Jabidah massacre, declaring the Muslim Independence Movement, which sought an independent state of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Pagalungan itself was the capital of the old Cotabato province from 1966 to 1973.

Other landmarks from his time are nearby. The old NAWASA water tank, built while he was governor and declared a historical landmark by the town, is now home to thousands of bats. The old provincial jail is used as an evacuation centre, and the red house of the old Rural Bank of Greater Cotabato has been kept as a heritage site.

Things to do

  1. 01See the bats at the old NAWASA tankThe old water reservoir, built in Matalam's time and declared a municipal historical landmark, shelters thousands of bats.
  2. 02Look at the old Rural Bank red houseThe former Rural Bank of Greater Cotabato building is kept as one of the town's heritage sites.

Food to try

  • Banana-leaf parcels of pastil, one opened to show shredded meat over steamed rice.MaguindanaonPastilRice and shredded meat in a banana leaf — the region’s breakfast, and its icon.Photo: Obsidian Soul
  • A mound of yellow turmeric rice, the kiyoning or kuning of Moro tables, topped with chicken in palapa.MaguindanaonKiyoningTurmeric rice, yellow and fragrant, cooked in coconut milk.Photo: Obsidian Soul
  • Lacy discs of tinagtag, the fried rice-flour snack sold at Ramadhan stalls in Maguindanao del Sur.MaguindanaonTinagtagA lattice of fried rice-flour batter, crisp and sweet.Photo: Bangsamoro Information Office

The food is halal. Named eateries come from dated listings, so check they are still open.

Sourcesmaguindanaodelsur.gov.ph ·en.wikipedia.org ·en.wikipedia.org