Polomolok (Polomolok)
Polomolok, officially the Municipality of Polomolok (Banwa sang Polomolok; Lungsod sa Polomolok; Bayan ng Polomolok; Inged nu Pulumuluk, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ڤولومولوق), is a 1st class municipality in the province of South Cotabato, Philippines. As of May 2020, it has a population of 172,605 people making it the most populated municipality in Mindanao.
It is located between General Santos and Tupi. Polomolok is seated about 41 km south-east of the provincial capital city of Koronadal, 17 km north of the port city of General Santos and 1030 km south-east of the national capital Manila. As of 2019, it is the second wealthiest Municipality in Mindanao with PHP 1.77 Billion worth of assets and in 2021, Polomolok is the 2nd Most Competitive Municipality in Mindanao (9th Nationwide). Polomolok also serves as the chief town in the 1st District of South Cotabato.
On March 2, 2020, former South Cotabato First District Representative Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles filed House Bill No. 6432 for the conversion of the Municipality of Polomolok into a component city of South Cotabato.
The name Polomolok was derived from the Blaan term flomlok, which means hunting ground. In the early years, the place where the Poblacion is presently situated was known for its abundance of wild life. There were no roads and the lowlanders befriended the Blaan highlanders and utilized them as guides. Aside from a rich hunting ground, Polomolok had so many creeks with free flowing water coming from the hillsides. Those cool and clear flowing water encouraged foreigners to settle in this place. One of them was a Japanese trader Zenjiro Takahashi and his Blaan wife. He began clearing the area and planted agricultural crops. Not long after, some of the Christians came to settle and started to clear the area.
In 1940, the Philippines Commonwealth government embarked on a very bold program of social amelioration. One of the projects was the distribution of lands to interested people who wanted to settle in Mindanao. Settlers were brought by boat to Dadiangas (General Santos) from Luzon and Visayas. On November 2, 1940, Polomolok was officially opened for settlement and known as Polomok Settlement District. Atty. Ernesto Jimenez was appointed as its first overseer. He was responsible for the allocation of farm lots. Then came the creation of some barrios of the settlers. These were Palkan, Lemblisong, Polo, Polomolok Central (now Poblacion), Polomolok Creek (now Magsaysay), Sulit, Lamcaliaf, Kinilis, Glamang, Bentung, Koronadal Proper, Leve, and Silway. The first settlers, after a crop or two, started to invite their friends and relatives to settle in this place, because the soil was so fertile that any crop can survive due to favorable climate conditions.
The settlement program was interrupted for four years by the Second World War. Don Francisco Natividad was appointed Military Mayor with Datu Badung Nilong as Vice Mayor and Sgt. Nuevarez as Chief of Police. In 1948, Perfecto Balili was designated NLSA Administrator with Rosendo Sarte as Officer-In-Charge. In 1954, the NLSA was abolished in the course of government reorganization. All records of NLSA were taken over by the Board of Liquidators. The Municipality of General Santos (formerly Buayan) was incorporated.
On August 21, 1957, the Municipality of Polomolok was created by virtue of a Presidential Executive Order No. 264 signed by President Carlos P. Garcia. It started functioning as a regular and independent municipality on September 10, 1957, as a 6th class municipality. The local officials were appointed by the President. Its first appointed Mayor was Datu Badong Nilong.
From 1957 to 1963, the progress of this town was still very slow. Fields have always been green, harvest bountiful but farm products had low market value and circulation of cash was rather slow. Then came a breakthrough, when the largest pineapple company, the Dole Philippines Inc., was planted and inaugurated on December 7, 1963.
It is located between General Santos and Tupi. Polomolok is seated about 41 km south-east of the provincial capital city of Koronadal, 17 km north of the port city of General Santos and 1030 km south-east of the national capital Manila. As of 2019, it is the second wealthiest Municipality in Mindanao with PHP 1.77 Billion worth of assets and in 2021, Polomolok is the 2nd Most Competitive Municipality in Mindanao (9th Nationwide). Polomolok also serves as the chief town in the 1st District of South Cotabato.
On March 2, 2020, former South Cotabato First District Representative Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles filed House Bill No. 6432 for the conversion of the Municipality of Polomolok into a component city of South Cotabato.
The name Polomolok was derived from the Blaan term flomlok, which means hunting ground. In the early years, the place where the Poblacion is presently situated was known for its abundance of wild life. There were no roads and the lowlanders befriended the Blaan highlanders and utilized them as guides. Aside from a rich hunting ground, Polomolok had so many creeks with free flowing water coming from the hillsides. Those cool and clear flowing water encouraged foreigners to settle in this place. One of them was a Japanese trader Zenjiro Takahashi and his Blaan wife. He began clearing the area and planted agricultural crops. Not long after, some of the Christians came to settle and started to clear the area.
In 1940, the Philippines Commonwealth government embarked on a very bold program of social amelioration. One of the projects was the distribution of lands to interested people who wanted to settle in Mindanao. Settlers were brought by boat to Dadiangas (General Santos) from Luzon and Visayas. On November 2, 1940, Polomolok was officially opened for settlement and known as Polomok Settlement District. Atty. Ernesto Jimenez was appointed as its first overseer. He was responsible for the allocation of farm lots. Then came the creation of some barrios of the settlers. These were Palkan, Lemblisong, Polo, Polomolok Central (now Poblacion), Polomolok Creek (now Magsaysay), Sulit, Lamcaliaf, Kinilis, Glamang, Bentung, Koronadal Proper, Leve, and Silway. The first settlers, after a crop or two, started to invite their friends and relatives to settle in this place, because the soil was so fertile that any crop can survive due to favorable climate conditions.
The settlement program was interrupted for four years by the Second World War. Don Francisco Natividad was appointed Military Mayor with Datu Badung Nilong as Vice Mayor and Sgt. Nuevarez as Chief of Police. In 1948, Perfecto Balili was designated NLSA Administrator with Rosendo Sarte as Officer-In-Charge. In 1954, the NLSA was abolished in the course of government reorganization. All records of NLSA were taken over by the Board of Liquidators. The Municipality of General Santos (formerly Buayan) was incorporated.
On August 21, 1957, the Municipality of Polomolok was created by virtue of a Presidential Executive Order No. 264 signed by President Carlos P. Garcia. It started functioning as a regular and independent municipality on September 10, 1957, as a 6th class municipality. The local officials were appointed by the President. Its first appointed Mayor was Datu Badong Nilong.
From 1957 to 1963, the progress of this town was still very slow. Fields have always been green, harvest bountiful but farm products had low market value and circulation of cash was rather slow. Then came a breakthrough, when the largest pineapple company, the Dole Philippines Inc., was planted and inaugurated on December 7, 1963.
Map - Polomolok (Polomolok)
Map
Country - Philippines
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Negritos, some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Adoption of animism, Hinduism and Islam established island-kingdoms called Kedatuan, Rajahnates, and Sultanates. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Spanish settlement through Mexico, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming ruled by the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. In 1896, the Philippine Revolution began, which then became entwined with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, while Filipino revolutionaries declared the First Philippine Republic. The ensuing Philippine–American War ended with the United States establishing control over the territory, which they maintained until the Japanese invasion of the islands during World War II. Following liberation, the Philippines became independent in 1946. Since then, the unitary sovereign state has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a decades-long dictatorship by a nonviolent revolution.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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| PHP | Philippine peso | ₱ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |
| TL | Tagalog language |
