HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The place, which later became the city of Tacurong was once a of the municipality of of the then empire province of . The place was originally called “Pamasang”, after a creek that flows from south to north of the area. In the 1940s, the place became the way station of the 19-C Survey Team due to is strategic location and suitability for the purposes of the survey team. During those years, the place also became a stopover point for travelers and the Oblate missionaries on their way to the different points of Cotabato Province. The name “Pamasang” was changed to “Talakudong”, the term for head covering which was worn by most of the early settlers and people in the area. How the place came to be associated with head covering cannot be ascertained. Eventually, the name was later shortened / changed to Tacurong. It can only be deduced that the present name Tacurong must have originated from the word “Talakudong”. Tacurong was separated from its mother town of Buluan and was created a municipality by Executive Order Number 462 signed by the late President on August 3, 1951. The city is composed of mostly Ilonggo settlers from the province of Iloilo. Tacurong then had an estimated area of 40,000 hectares comprising 14 barangays. When , a barangay of Tacurong was created into a municipality in 1961, the southern portions of Tacurong were separated. The area was further reduced when Pres. Quirino was created into a municipality on Nov. 22, 1973 taking with it some of the eastern portions. Tacurong now has a total land area of 15,340 hectares, the smallest in land area among the 12 municipalities that compose the new province of , created on Nov. 22, 1973 by Presidential Decree No. 341. Although became the provincial capital, Tacurong remained as the premier town. After 49 years of existence as a municipality, Tacurong became the first component city of the Province of Sultan Kudarat through the effort, of Hon. Angelo O. Montilla, the Congressman of the Lone District of Sultan Kudarat by virtue of House Bill No. 6497 duly approved and signed by His Excellency President Joseph

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E. Estrada through Republic Act 8805 “An Act Converting the Municipality of Tacurong into a Component City of the Province of Sultan Kudarat to be known as the “City of Tacurong” on August 16, 2000 and duly confirmed by the “Tacurongnons” on a plebiscite held on September 18, 2000. Tacurong is located at the center of Central . It is 92 kms. from Gen. Santos City, 96 kms. from and 178 kms. from . It is situated at the crossroads of the Davao-Gen. Santos-Cotabato highways, and is the population, financial, commercial, education, and rest and recreation center of the area. It services the needs of 15 neighboring municipalities. People from these areas go to Tacurong to sell their products, purchase their needs, pursue education, avail of medical and health services, and seek recreation. As an important hub of the Mindanao transport grid, Tacurong is visited by numerous passengers and transients on their way to the cities of Davao, Cotabato, Gen. Santos and even .

Politically, Tacurong has been served by eleven elected and appointed mayors from its creation in 1951 to the present who represented various sectors. Ricardo Soriano and Serafin Limbungan were farmers; Quirino Mercado, a lawyer; Jose Escribano, a military man; Jose P. Barroquillo, a medical practitioner; Benjamin Eliseo, a contractor and a businessman; Fernando O. Bayquin, a government employee (DILG); Teodoro Subido, a dental practitioner; Angelo O. Montilla, a farm manager; Geronimo P. Arzagon, an educator; and the present mayor, Lino O. Montilla, an electrical engineer.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISION

The city of Tacurong is located at the geographical coordinates 6 degrees 41 minutes and 42.583 seconds latitude, 124 degrees, 40 minutes and 29.818 seconds longitude. It is bounded by the municipalities of , to the north; Isulan to the west; Pres. Quirino to the east; and by Tantangan of Province to the south.

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The city of Tacurong is presently composed of 20 barangays most of which are agricultural-based, namely:

1. Baras - 756 Has. 11. New Lagao - 941 Has 2. Buenaflor - 520 Has. 12. New Passi - 1,560 Has. 3. Calean - 483 Has. 13. Poblacion - 257 Has. 4. Demetrio Ledesma - 347 Has. 14. Rajah Muda - 1,310 Has. 5. E. J. C. Montilla - 2,220 Has. 15. San Antonio - 300 Has. 6. Griño - 640 Has. 16. San Emmanuel - 734 Has. 7. Kalandagan - 2,553 Has. 17. San Pablo - 339 Has. 8. Lancheta - 511 Has. 18. San Rafael - 194 Has. 9. New Carmen - 289 Has. 19. Tina - 514 Has. 10. New Isabela - 295 Has. 20. Upper Katungal - 577 Has.

Barangay Poblacion is the seat of the city government and center of most of the economic, cultural and political activities of the city. Although most of the barangays are agricultural-based, some barangays those that are adjacent to Barangay Poblacion are already becoming commercial, residential and industrial centers.

DEMOGRAPHY:

POPULATION, SIZE, GROWTH and TREND

As of 2006 Socio Economic Profile Survey on population, the city of Tacurong has a total population of 82,465, This indicates an addition of 6,140 persons to the household population enumerated by the census in 2000 which was 76,325. This puts the geometric growth rate of the population between 2000 and at 1.39 percent annually. Barangay Poblacion, being the urban center is the most populated area with 15,409 residents followed by Barangay New Isabela with 10, 182 residents while Barangay San Rafael represents the least populated area with 912 persons or 1.05 percent of the total population.

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Of the eleven municipalities and a city in the province of Sultan Kudarat, the city of Tacurong is the largest in terms of population size comprising 13.4 percent of the total population of the province while comprising only 2.65% of the total land area of the province. Several factors contributed to the large population of the city of Tacurong. First, its being the center of finance, trade and commerce, and rest and recreation in the Central Mindanao area, the city play host to the large number of people who come to do their business and presents livelihood opportunities for the jobless. Second, the presence of basic services and facilities attracts the people from other municipalities to reside in the city; and third, the stability of peace and order situation of the city.

URBAN- RURAL DISTRIBUTION The urban dwellers from Poblacion 18.89 percent or 15,409 residents of the total population while the rural population is placed at 81.11 percent or 67,056 residents.

POPULATION DENSITY The city of Tacurong has a population density of 537.58 persons per square kilometer.

AGE – SEX DISTRIBUTION Based on Socio Economic Profile Survey, male population comprised 50.37 percent of the total population or 41,551 residents while female population comprised 49.63 percent or 40,914 of the total population. Basing on the age structure, the city’s population is predominantly young. The 41,093 or 49.83 percent belongs to 0-24 age level which has the largest share; 28,352 or 34.38 percent represents 25-49 bracket; and 50 years and above age bracket which has the lowest share of 15.79 percent or 13,020 of the total population.

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Table 1 Population and Household by Barangay as June 2006 Barangay Household Population Number of Household Male Female Both Sex Baras 1610 1456 3066 637 Buenaflor 2216 2297 4513 1013 Calean 893 850 1743 386 D'Ledesma 747 705 1452 307 E.J.C. Montilla 2138 2069 4207 1038 Griño 2770 2528 5298 1106 Kalandagan 1012 973 1985 400 Lancheta 553 508 1061 212 New Carmen 1544 1404 2948 660 New Isabela 4933 5249 10182 2081 New Lagao 1095 1081 2176 456 New Passi 1297 1183 2480 489 Poblacion 7516 7893 15409 3470 Rajah Muda 1720 1568 3288 685 San Antonio 669 638 1307 292 San Emmanuel 2041 1979 4020 877 San Pablo 5046 4958 10004 2055 San Rafael 485 427 912 208 Tina 1680 1700 3380 479 Upper Katungal 1586 1448 3034 649 Tacurong City 41551 40914 82465 17,500 Source: SEP as June 2006

Table 2 HISTORICAL GROWTH OF POPULATION 1960 – 1990, 1995 – 2000-20067 Actual Average Growth Year Increase/Decrease Population Rate 1960 15,051 1970 29,796 14,745 7.06% 1975 37,255 7,459 4.56% 1980 45,908 8,853 4.26% 1990 58,785 12,877 2.50% 1995 69,822 11,037 3.28% 2000 76,424 6,602 1.93% 2007 82,546 6,122 1.08% Source: National Statistics Office 5

Population by Age & Sex

80&above 260 274

75 to 79 386 447

70 to 74 608 658 782 906 65 to 69 1069 60 to 64 1114 1472 55 to 59 1483 1803 50 to 54 1758 2169 45 to 49 2223 2438 40 to 44 2444 Male 35 to 39 2890 2929

30 to 34 3236 3066 Female

25 to 29 3583 3374 3784 20 to 24 3826

15 to 19 4465 4375

10 to 14 4149 4242

5 to 9 4383 4148 1 to 4 3165 2839

Under 1 841 876

-5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

MOTHER TONGUE/ETHNICITY

Ilonggo is the mother tongue of 12,524 households or 71.57 percent of the total population. About 2,820 households or 16.11 percent are Ilocanos while the remaining 12.32 percent of the population are distributed to as follows: Cebuano

(4.31%), Maguindanao (6.46%) and others (1.55%).

Table 3 Dialect Spoken Dialect Spoken Number of households Percentage Ilonggo 12,524 71.57% Ilocano 2,820 16.11% Cebuano 754 4.31% Maguindanao 1131 6.46% Others 271 1.55% Source: SEP as June 2006 6

Dialect Spoken

Maguindanao, 1,131 Cebuano, 754 Others , 271

Ilocano, 2,820 Ilonggo, 12,524

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

The recent survey conducted in the city shows that Tacurong is predominantly

Catholic with 78.43 percent or 13,728 of the total household. About 7.30 percent or

1279 household are Islam believers, 7.10 percent or 1243 household are Protestant,

3.47 percent or 607 household are Iglisia Ni Kristo, 2.22 percent or 388 household are Seventh Day Adventist, while 1.45 percent belong to other religious denominations. There are fourteen (14) main churches of various denominations found in the Poblacion. There are likewise small churches or houses of worships spread all over the Barangays of the City.

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Table 4 Religious Affiliations Religion Number of Household Percentage Roman Catholic 13,728 78.43% Iglisia Ni kristo 607 3.47 Protestant 1243 7.10% Seventh Day Adventist 388 2.22% Islam 1279 7.30% Others 255 1.45% Source: SEP June 2006

Religious Affiliation

Seventh Day Adv, 388 Islam, 1279

Others, 255 Protestant:, 1243

Iglisia Ni Cristo, 607

Catholic, 13728

LITERACY AND HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT According to the Socio Economic Profile Survey as June 2006, of the total population 10 years old and over, around 65,334 or 98.67 were reported literate while 879 or 1.33% were illiterate. In terms of highest educational attainment, approximately 34,407 persons or 51.77% of the population 10 years old and over were reported to have graduated from elementary or have had attended some graduates or have had some secondary education. Those who obtained post secondary education numbered 11,154 or 16.85%. College undergraduates were recorded to reach 9,569 or 14.45%

8 while academic degree holders summed up to 10,204 or 15.41%. Of the literate, 50.05% are male while the other 49.95% are female.

Table 5 Highest Educational Attainment (10 years above) Male Female Total Percentage None 460 419 879 1.33% Pre-Schooler 183 211 394 0.60% Elem-Level: 6109 5638 11747 17.74% Elem. Graduate: 4646 4508 9154 13.83% H.S. Level 6775 6337 13112 19.80% HS Graduate 5408 5746 11154 16.85% College Level 4738 4831 9569 14.45% College Graduate 4289 4770 9059 13.68% Post Graduate: 554 591 1145 1.73% Source: SEP as June 2006

Highest Educational Attainment (10 years above)

591 Post Graduate: 554 4289 College Graduate 4770

4738 4831 College Level Male 5408 5746 HS Graduate Famale

H.S. Level 6775 6337 4508 Elem. Graduate: 4646

Elem-Level: -6109 5638

Pre-Schooler 183 211

None 460 419

-8000 -6000 -4000 -2000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000

PHYSICAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES: TOPOGRAPHY The terrain of the city is mostly plain, about 84% and the slope ranges from 0- 8%. The sloping areas are located at the southeastern portion of the city. The plain areas are drained by a number of streams and creeks running south to north. 9

There are two soil types in the city, the banga sandy loam type and the timaga clay loam type. Fifteen of the barangays have the banga sandy loam type which is suited for corn and other crops. Five barangays have the timaga loam type, which is generally suited for rice production.

CLIMATE Tacurong falls under the fourth type of climate characterized by an even distribution of rainfall. The average annual rainfall is 127.64 milimeter. The average temperature ranges from 27.36 to 27.56 degrees Celcius. Relative humidity averages 80 degrees.

NATURAL RESOURCES Except for its fertile land and a number of streams and creeks, Tacurong has few natural resources since it is an inland town with almost plain terrain. There are no forest areas except a 298-hectare reforestation site in Barangay New Passi. There are also some areas which could be developed into fishponds. Barangay Kalandagan, which is hilly, is a good prospect for cattle breeding and cattle rising. It is also a good source of clay for making pots and of quarry materials.

LAND USE The land area of the city is devoted to the following uses: residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial and open spaces. A vast expanse of 13,723.14 hectares or 89.46% is devoted to agriculture. Residential area accounts for the 3.71% of the total land area. Approximately, 36.8416 hectares and 86.0462 hectares of the land are classified as commercial and industrial areas respectively. About 13.39% of the total land area is classified as open space which are intended for recreational facilities, water, and areas utilized for transport facilities.

ECONOMY Commerce and Industry

Years ago, the city depended for its source of Livelihood from agricultural and only part of the town income from Commercial establishments. However, the influx 10 of migrant part of the archipelago and evacuees from the neighboring place due to

Sporadic disturbance caused by lawless elements, changed the course of the city in its struggle for economic development from agriculture to commerce and Trade.

Presently; Tacurong has Twelve (12) banking institutions serving the financial/monetary needs of the residents of the locality and neighboring areas. These banks are 1. ALLIED BANK, 2. Development Bank of the Pilippines, 3.LAND BANK, 4.METROBANK, 5.PCI-Equitable Bank, 6.Rural Bank of Tacurong, 7.PENBANK 8.Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), 9.Rural Bank of Pres. Quirino, 10. NETWORK, 11.Rural Bank of Libak, 12. Partner Rural Bank (Cotabato) Inc.

There are at present 1,153 registered business establishments in the community. Among these is the big shopping center the Tacurong Fit Mart Kimsan Plaza Corporation and NOVO. There are also a number of large to medium scale hardware/convenience stores, specialty/novelty shops, restaurants/refreshments, parlors, fast food and other types of business establishments. These establishments cater to the needs of both the residents of the locality and the neighboring areas. There are also Fifteen (15) appliance centers including the branches of some big- name ones such as EMCOR Appliance, Imperial Appliance Plaza, Ruby Appliances, Guillamacs Appliances and Better Homes Appliances Corporation. The city has also (6) six gasoline stations to cater to the needs of the motorists and the riding public. There is also the complete and operational Integrated Public Terminal which sits on a 2.5- hectare lot in Barangay New Isabela and also on going construction of a modern and integrated slaughter house at Barangay Kalandagan and auction market at Barangay San Pablo. The public market, which was completed last December 5, 1996, replaced the old public market, which was razed by fire last December 1989 resulting to the destruction of 75% of the market. The construction was made possible through a P 29 Million Loan from the World Bank through the Program for Essential Municipal 11

Infrastructure Utilities, Maintenance and Engineering Development (PREMIUMED) and a grant of P 14 Million from the National Government. The new 10-Million Peso wet market (agora type) which was completed earlier was financed by the local government with assistance from the national government. In year 2004 the roof of the Public market is rehabilitated.

The main industry found in the city is rice and corn milling and trading. There are seventeen (17) mediums to large-scale rice mills operating. Thirty rice mills and two corn mills operating in the locality including the giant National Food Authority- Southern Grains Complex (NFA-SPGC) silo (Mechanical Drier) and rice mill, the second largest in Asia.

The NFA-SPGC includes a number of large warehouses and has a milling capacity of twenty tons per hour. It also has a daily palay dispersal volume of 52,345 or 50-kg bags per day.

The city has an agricultural crop production of 47,237.97 metric tons for all crops with 6,167.25 hectares planted. The annual rice production is 21,240 metric tons on 3,728 hectares planted, some 48% of which are irrigated. The annual corn production is 3,556.7 metric tons on 855.75 hectares planted. The city also produces African palm oil, which is shipped to to be used in the plastics and soap making industry and other chemical industries. The annual yield is 22,980 metric tons on 1,034 hectares planted.

There are also various small-scale industries like metal craft, food processing, furniture, ceramics, handicrafts, garments, pottery, vinegar making and balut making.

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SOCIAL SERVICES

EDUCATION

As the center of learning in the area, the Department of Education (Dep-Ed) Division Office is located in Tacurong and now the City of Tacurong has also City Division. A total of 102 learning institutions from exist all over the city, 47 of which are Day care Centers, 31 Elementary schools, 13 high schools, and 11 tertiary schools. Of the 31 elementary schools, 24 are public and 7 are private. The secondary schools are composed of 5 public, 1 national and 7 privately owned. The tertiary level includes the Sultan Kudarat Polytechnic State College (SKPSC), Sultan Kudarat Educational Institution (SKEI), a nursing and midwifery school; four colleges offering various courses; and four vocational and computer schools.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

There are Ten (11) hospitals and Twelve (12) medical clinics of various specialties presently located in the locality including 28 private medical practitioners, 60 nurses, and 80 midwives, which complement the local health unit and barangay health centers. There are also 7 dental clinics and 3 optical clinics. There are nine (9) pharmacies currently in operation in the city including the branches of Mercury Drugstore and Rose Pharmacy. The local health unit of the local government unit of Tacurong located at Barangay Poblacion offers free services to the public particularly the needy ones. It has an ambulance for emergency use; it also has numerous volunteer rural health workers who offer free services to the different barangays. The health center provides only basic health services as to preventive and promotive aspects and referrals services and some extended services such as community health services on immunization, maternal and child care, family planning, dental health services and other medical counseling. Similarly, they are bale to undertake community outreach programs like campaigns for the conducting seminars on the promotion of breastfeeding, nutrition education, personal hygiene 13

and sanitation, construction of sanitary toilets, inspecting and disinfecting rural water supply and the proper handling of food preparation especially for food operators. These extension services though were limited in scope, considering the limited number of medical health personnel serving the 20 barangays of Tacurong City, 2 City Health Officer, 2 Public Health Nurse, 12 Rural Health Midwives, 1 Midwife, 2 Dentists, 2 Med-Tech, 2 Sanitary Inspector and 1 Job Order.

Housing The 2006 Socio Economic Profile Survey of Population and Housing registered 17,500 households out of the 82,465 population of the city. Of the total number of households 29.90 percent is found in the poblacion while the remaining 70.10 percent is distributed among the 19 barangays with San Pablo having the most number of households, followed by New Isabela comprising 16.86% of the total urban household. Thirty-four and eighteen percent of the household is composed of 1 to 4 members; 35.69 percent of the household is composed of 5 to 7 members; 18.57 percent has 8 to 9 members and 11.56 percent is made up of 10 and more members.

There are presently three private housing projects which cater the needs of the community, namely the Yellow Village in barangay New Isabela, Montiville Homes and JM Homes both located in barangay EJC Montilla, there is also the TAMEA (Tacurong Municipal Employees Association) Village which was financed by the local government unit to be used by its employees.

The City Government of Tacurong acquired a five-hectares site in Barangay San Pablo of which is programmed to be used as a low cost housing project. There are seventy-five houses built, on which forty five of this is already awarded to the qualified beneficiaries and the remaining thirty units are ready to be awarded . On the same site, the Habitat for Humanity also funded the building of almost two hundred houses and all of this are already awarded to the beneficiaries.

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With an ardent desire of the City Government to continue the program, the City acquired an Eight point Nine (8.9) hectares site in Barangay Calean for the Resettlement Project Phase II.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES LAND TRANSPORTATION

There is a total of 247.50 kilometers of national, provincial, city and barangay roads in the locality. Of this kilometerage of roads, 21.612 are national, 43.845 are provincial, 17.45 are city roads, and 164.60 are barangay roads. The national highways of Tacurong are the Dulawan - Road and the – Allah Junction road, both of which total to 17.05 kilometers. The Dulawan – Koronadal Road has a length of 11.95 kms., a standard width of 60 meters and a 0%-1% gradient at km. 235+069+244+000-247+385. This road connects Tacurong City to South Cotabato Province to the south and the Municipality of Lambayong to the north. The National Highway is a well-paved system stretching from Cotabato City to Makilala in Cotabato Province. The portion of the National Highway fronting the commercial district is a four-lane concrete road with a total length of 1 km. and is undergoing expansion. Alunan Highway is also concrete from the boundary with Lambayong to Gen. Santos City. The streets surrounding the newly constructed public market also have four lanes. A number of streets in the poblacion are already concrete and many more are in the pipeline for concreting. The construction of the drainage system especially in the poblacion is also on going. The provincial roads have a total of 43.845 kilometers in length with each road having a standard width of 30 meters and a road-of-way of 15 meters. All roads have earth surfacing except the highway junction – Rajah Muda road that is graveled. The roads around the poblacion has a total of 17.45 kilometers in length with each road having a standard width of 20 meters. The barangay roads have a total length of 164.60 kilometers and 13.105 km. have been concreted. Mostly the condition of the barangay roads is poor and it needs improvement of surfacing materials. These roads inter-connects the different barangays of the city.

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DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM Tacurong is predominantly flat at the urban area/built-up area including also some parts of the agricultural areas. During heavy rainfall or rainy season some parts of Tacurong is flooded, these are long portion of national Highway going to South Cotabato & National Highway going to Davao, Caños Subd., Apilado Subd. And some parts of barangay New Isabela and Calean, due to clogging and unficnished construction of drainage/sewerage system. Most of the canals/drainage are open and was not fully maintained and developed which causes erosion of surface.

BRIDGES There are six (6) bridges along the National Highways of Tacurong City. These are the Calean Bridge, Kalandagan Bridge I & II, Gansing Bridge, Upper katungal Bridge and EJC Montilla Bridge . All are of the RCDG Type with width varying to 12.00-36.00 meters and with length varying from 7.00 to 14.60 meters. And with load capacity of 20 metric tons.

Table 6 Bridges Type of Administration-2004 Type of Percent to Number Length Administration Total

National 6 128.90 71.65 %

Provincial 4 51.00 28.35%

City None -

Barangay None -

Total 10 179.90 100% Source: DPWH/PEO/City Engineering/PPDO/PEO

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INVENTORY OF TRANSPORT VEHICLE Due to its strategic location, there are present five (5) big bus companies serving the riding public, there are also a large number of other transport systems present including the air-conditioned vans and jeepneys which ply the routes to and from the city. The main transport system inside the locality is the pedicab (tricycle) which now numbers about 3,594 units. Some of the tricycles are privately owned which are converted to public utility vehicles. It also shows that government owned most of the motorcycles, utility vehicles and heavy equipments which are being used for implementation, inspection, monitoring and evaluation of programs/projects of the city. Table 7 Inventory of Land Transportation Vehicles- 2004 Type of Public Private Government Total Vehicle Utility Motorcycle 6,023 - 239 6,262 Utility vehicle 1,947 826 221 2,994 Truck (heavy) 438 127 86 651 Truck 354 59 10 423 (Medium) Truck (Light) 287 5 1 293 Trailer (Heavy) 119 71 25 215 Trailer 16 24 - 40 (Medium) Trailer (Light) 3 7 1 11 Tricycle - 3,594 - 3,594 Total 9,187 4,713 583 14,483 Source: LTO

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OTHER TRANSPORT FACILITIES

The people of the city also own a large number of private vehicles of all sizes and makes. The local government open the Integrated Public Terminal later this year, the first of its kind to put up in Central Mindanao. It can accommodate 128 vehicles and can operationalized 66 routes per day located at barangay New Isabela. Out of these. There are still existing public utility vehicle facilities/terminals that are being used by almost tricycles, multi-cabs and jeepneys. These are located along the perimeter of Tacurong Public Market, City Plaza, commercial establishments such as in Tacurong Fitmart and Kimsan Plaza, which only shows that public terminal were not still fully operationalized due to some political interventions within the locality.

COMMUNICATIONS There are four telephones systems providing local and long-distance/direct dialing services. These are PLDT, Sultan Kudarat Telephone System Inc. (SKTSI), PT&T, and Bureau of Telecommunications (Telecom). There are also a cell-phone service of Smart and Globe. There are three Internet service providers. There are also two radio bases in the city, REACT and RECON. UTILITIES

The electric power in the city is distributed by the Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative (SUKELCO) which is based in Tacurong, the city is now 89% energized, and expansion is still on going. Electric power is supplied by the National Power Corporation (NPC) which is relatively cheaper since most of the energy generated is from NPC’s Maria Cristina Fall Hydroelectric Power Plant. An NPC substation is also located in the municipality; this substation is currently supplying the electric power needs of the Central Mindanao area including Cotabato City and City. Potable water supply is being distributed to the poblacion and its adjacent barangays by the Sultan Kudarat Water District (SKWD), a subsidiary of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

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PROTECTIVE AND FIRE SERVICES

Tacurong is peaceful community with little crime incidents. There are 59 personnel at the Tacurong PNP station who are tasked in the maintenance of peace, order and security. There were 136 reported crime occurrences in 2005, most of which are lightly/petty offenses. There are also 700 members of the Civilian Volunteers Organization (CVO’s), 400 members of Barangay Tanod and 20 members of Traffic Enforcer. Fire Protection is taken care of by 20 members of the Bureau of Fire Protection. There are presently two fire trucks in the city. The , Branch 20 is located in the city together with the City Circuit Trial Court; there is also an Office of the Public Attorney.

A total of 839 cases committed against persons from 2000 to 2005 reported 560 index crimes and 360 non-index crime Crime solution efficiency for the following years was noted:

2000 - 82.85% 2001 - 85.71% 2002 - 83.46% 2003 - 79.41% 2004 - 81.03% 2005 - 77%

Table 8 Crime Incidence City of Tacurong2005 Frequency of Occurrence Type of Crimes 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Index Crimes 98 75 75 72 117 123

Non-Index 42 51 52 64 57 40 Crimes

Solved Cases 116 108 106 108 141 131

Unsolved 24 18 21 30 33 32 Cases Crime Volume 140 126 127 136 174 136 Source: PNP

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Table 9 Fire Incidence City of Tacurong 2004 Type Frequency of Occurrence According to 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Origin/Cause Electrical 3 6 1 11 3 Comb Heat - 2 2 1 5 Cooking 1 1 1 2 1 Spark 1 0 2 1 2 Flammable 1 0 - - - Liquids Lpg 0 0 - 1 2 Unknown 3 0 - 2 0 Total 9 9 6 18 13 Source: BFP

Table 10 Location, Area, Size of Force, Force-Population Ratio Facilities and equipment City of Tacurong 2004 Facilities Equipment Existing Force Police Protective Area Prisoner Location Size of Pop’n Fire Others Services (sq.m.) Van/Rescue Force Ratio Fighting (Specify) Truck Vehicle Police Force Sub-station/ Station/ Poblacion 700 59 1:1000 - 1 2 Outpost/s Poblacion sq. m. 3 Traffic 25 sq. outpost m. Fire Protection Headquarters Sub- station/ station 1 421sq. 20 1:3000 2 - - m. Civilian 700 Volunteers Tanod 400

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Traffic 20 Auxiliary Disaster 2 Military Camps Bo. 2 600 1 Team - - - - 1202(SK) San sq. m. 1 - - - - CDC Emmanuel 5,000 Company - - - - Palar Kalandagan sq. m. Brigade - - - - 201st Kalandagan 15,000 1 - - - - 14 PAB Poblacion sq. m. Company Tugis 5,000 1 sq. m. Company 800 sq. m. Outpost in the City & Immediate Vicinity Source: PNP/ CPDO

Table 11 Future Police Force Requirement City of Tacurong Year Projected Populations Police Force

2006 85,634 112

2007 87,286 115

2008 88,971 119

2009 90,688 122

2010 92,438 126

Table 12 Future Firemen Force Requirement City of Tacurong Year Projected Populations Police Force

2006 85,634 151

2007 87,286 154

2008 88,971 157

2009 90,688 161

2010 92,438 165 21

AGRICULTURE

CROP PRODUCTION

Tacurong stands among other municipalities of Sultan Kudarat as an agriculture area. Out of its total area, 12,841.33 hectares are devoted for agricultural crops. Major crop produced in the city is rice, which covers about 6,061.5 hectares. Total irrigated land area planted to rice is 4,717. The rest are rainfed with 1,344.5 hectares. Corn is the second staple crop to rice. It occupies an area of 531 hectares. Another viable crop in the field of Agriculture is the African Palm oil tree. It is produce locally over 2,478 hectares of land found in Barangays Katungal, Kalandagan and EJC Montilla.

Coconut occupies 99 Hectares of land, but is not developed as compares to rice and corn, root crops, vegetable and other crops are among the tangible proofs of the people’s support to the program on green revolution. Aside from the Agricultural crops already maintained, citrus, mango, cacao and soybeans are also planted in the city to help boost agricultural production. There are also two communal irrigation systems in the city. They service 4,717hectares of land.

There are 4,504 major and minor occupation groups in the locally. Of the total 24 or .5% is from urban area while 4,504 or 99.5% is from the rural area. Crop farmers have the highest number of 4,354 while aqua-farm cultivator is the lowest number of 6.

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Table 13 Area Devoted to Agricultural Crop Production City of Tacurong 2004 % to Total Agricultural Land % To Total of Crops Area (Hectares) Devoted to Crop City’s Land Area Production 1. Rice a. Irrigated 4,717 36.73 30.75 b. Non- 1,344.5 10.47 8.76 Irrigated

2. Corn 531.5 4.14 3.46

3. Vegetable 251.25 1.96 1.64

4. Coconut 99 0.77 0.65

5. Fruit –trees 560.25 4.36 3.65

6. Banana 38 0.30 0.25

7. African Oil Palm 2,478 19.30 16.15

8. Sugar Cane 120 0.93 0.78

9. Other (G’melina, mahonggani & 464 3.61 3.02 other tree)

10. Shrub lands/ Open grassland 768.58 5.99 5.01

11. Commercial (livestock/Pasturela 1,469.25 11.44 9.58 nd)

Total 12,841.33 100 83.71 Source: DA 23

Table 14 Area, Production and Value of Production By Major Crops City of Tacurong, 2004 % to Total Estimate Agri. Land Total Area d Yield Major Crops Devoted to Value of (Has.) (MT./1 Production Crop Production has) (MT) Production (P) 1. Rice Irrigated 4,717 36.32 4.7 44,339.80 443,398,000. Non-irrigated 1,344.5 10.35 4.0 5,378.00 00 53,780,000.0 2. Corn 531.5 4.09 3.8 2,019.70 0

3. Vegetables 251.25 1.93 2.6 653.25 12,118,200.0 0 4. Coconut 99 0.76 2.0 198.00 9,798,750.00 5. Fruit Trees 560.25 4.31 4.0 2,241.00 3,564,000.00 6. Banana 38 0.29 12.00 456.00 44,820,000.0 7. Palm oil 2,478 19.08 17.5 43,365.00 0

8. Sugar Cane 120 0.92 3.4 408.00 6,840,000.00

130,095,000. 00

6,120,000.00

Total 10,139.5 78.05 54.00 99,058.75 Source: DA

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Table 15 Major and Minor Occupation Groups Urban and rural City of Tacurong, 2004 Major and Minor Occupation Groups Location Total Urban Rural FARMERS FARMWORKERS FISHERMEN Crop Farmers Citywide 4,354 __ 4,354 Orchard Farmers Citywide 110 __ 100 Ornamental and Other Citywide 60 24 36 Livestock and Dairy Farmers Citywide 8 ___ 8 Aqua-Farm Cultivators Citywide 6 __ 6 Total 4,538 24 4,504 Source: DA

Table 16 Present and Projected Agricultural Production* (In metric Tons/Annum) City of Tacurong, 2004-2008 Agricultural Production 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Rice 33,100 33,431 33,766 34,103 34,444 34,788 Corn 3,687 3,724 3,761 3,799 3,837 3,875 Vegetables 263 266 269 272 275 277 Sugarcane 400 404 408 412 416 420.28 Fruits 800.00 920 1058 1216.7 1,339 1,609 Coconut 152 154 156 158 160 161 Source: DA

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