The City of Cotabato
Cotabato City at a glance
Cotabato City is located in Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines, approximately 699 nautical miles south of Manila, the nation's capital and around 1-1/2 hour by commercial airlines.
Cotabato's port is 18 km (11 mi) north at Parang, on Poloc Harbor, an arm of the Illana Bay.
Cotabato is the main commercial center of southwestern
Mindanao Island, but its swampy delta and remoteness have kept
it from achieving the commercial importance of other cities on
Mindanao, such as Davao and Zamboanga.
The valley of the Río Grande de Mindanao, called
the Cotabato Valley, is one of the country's major agricultural
regions. Sometimes still considered a “pioneer” frontier area,
the valley has been the destination for migrants from more densely
populated regions in the Visayan Islands and Luzon Island since
the beginning of the 20th century.
Rice, maize (corn), sugarcane, and coffee are important crops of the Cotabato Valley. National roads and highways connect Cotabato through the valley to most of the cities and towns of Mindanao.
Cotabato is also served by a small airport providing commercial interisland service.
Philippine Airlines 
Cebu Pacific 
Southeast Asean Airlines
The city's population is diverse ethnically and
reflects the in-migration of Catholic Filipinos from the north
to this once Muslim-dominated area.
In 1990 some 40 percent of Cotabato's residents were Muslim; the major Muslim group speaks Maguindanao. Chinese residents are an important minority and are dominant in some retail activities.
Cotabato was founded by the Spanish in 1862 and
named a charter city in 1959. Its name is related to the Spanish
word for fort, which was Cotabato's earliest function.
Cotabato City has one of the best fruits in the country - rambutan, lanzones,
marang, banana, durian and mangosteen. 
Cotabato City is also dubbed as the Land of the Crabs and local tourists usually
go to the market for cheap crabs and prawns.