Malabang, officially the Municipality of Malabang (Maranao: Inged a Malabang; Tagalog: Bayan ng Malabang), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 49,088 people.^[3] The town is one of the two former capitals of the Sultanate of Maguindanao from 1515 until the Spanish conquered the land in 1888.

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Quick Facts ملابانج, Country ...

Malabang ملابانج
Municipality
Municipality of Malabang
Flag Seal
Map of Lanao del Sur with Malabang highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Malabang Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°35′25″N 124°04′13″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Province	Lanao del Sur
District	2nd district
Founded	1520
Chartered	May 19, 1893
Barangays	37 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Alinader M. Balindong
• Vice Mayor	Raizoli S. Balindong
• Representative	Yasser A. Balindong
• Municipal Council	Members Farrajibah D. Padate Jerry M. Rakim Malik B. Boloto Altaf D. Balindong Cosain B. Malawani Malic A. Balindong Almubarak A. Pagayawan Nedaya B. Padate
• Electorate	37,720 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	198.10 km2 (76.49 sq mi)
Elevation	61 m (200 ft)
Highest elevation	327 m (1,073 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	49,088
• Density	250/km2 (640/sq mi)
• Households	7,647
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	71.01 % (2018)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 171.4 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 80.29 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 161.6 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 0.5527 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (LASURECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	9300
PSGC	153615000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)63
Native languages	Maranao Tagalog
Website	https://malabang.com.ph/

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Malabang, in Lanao del Sur, is considered the oldest settlement in mainland Mindanao.

The Sultanate of T'bok was an established kingdom in present-day Malabang long before the Philippines became a country. The people of Malabang are mostly Maranaos, a southern Mindanao ethnicity; they are also often identified with the Iranuns because of Iranuns who live in some of the barangays in the southern part of Malabang, comprising what is now Balabagan. In March 1969, Executive Order 386, signed by President Carlos P. Garcia, reconstituted the southern part of Malabang as the Municipality of Balabagan. Thus, Iranuns are now residents of Balabagan rather than Malabang.

Malabang played a significant part in the early battles against invaders of the Philippines. During the defensive campaigns against Spain, Malabang became the headquarters of Sultan Muhammad Kudarat of Maguindanao. He used to spend time recuperating in Malabang throughout the period when he was fighting to defend Maguindanao against invasion. He later retired to Malabang when he fell ill. He eventually died and was buried there. In May 1977, Presidential Decree 1135 of President Ferdinand Marcos created the Municipality of Picong (formerly Sultan Gumander) out of the north-western portion of Malabang, where Sultan Kudarat's grave was located.

During the Second World War, when the Japanese invaded the Philippines, the Japanese military built a large camp in Malabang, including a network of tunnels around it. It was considered a major camp of the Japanese forces. In 1942, the Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice José Abad Santos was brought to this camp, after he was captured in Cebu while fleeing from Japanese forces. Chief Justice Abad Santos was executed in the camp for refusing to cooperate with the Japanese, and was buried in barangay Curahab. The place where the camp is situated and where Mr. Santos was executed was later on named Camp Jose Abad Santos (Camp JAS).

In 1945, United States and Philippine Commonwealth forces, working with Maranao guerillas, occupied Malabang after a siege. During the Siege of Malabang, the guerillas used weapons like the Maranao kris, barong and kampilan to fight the Japanese forces. The victorious American and Philippine Commonwealth troops, together with their Maranao guerrilla allies, eventually defeated the Japanese Imperial forces. When the built of the general headquarters and military camp base of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary was station's active in Malabang from 1945 to 1946 during and ended of World War II.

Malabang as a municipality was founded on March 1, 1893. The locals of the town celebrate the founding day, the Araw ng Malabang every March 1 annually.

Malabang is one of thirty-nine municipalities comprising the province of Lanao del Sur in northern Mindanao. It lies on the south-west part of the province and belongs to the second district. It has 37 barangays with a total land area of 37,789.28 km². The distance from Marawi City to Malabang is 71 kilometers. Malabang is bounded on the north by the municipality of Calanogas; on the north-west by the municipality of Picong (Sultan Gumander); on the east by the municipality of Marogong; and on the south by the municipality of Balabagan. To the west of Malabang is Illana Bay.

It is under the administrative supervision of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) since November 1989, pursuant to R.A. No. 6734 dated June 8, 1989, known as the "Organic Act of ARM M".

The municipality is a level plain in its central to southern portion. A slope in the north is bounded by the Municipality of Calanogas. There is also a slope in eastern Malabang.

Poverty Incidence of Malabang

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[10][11]
[12][13][14][15][16]}

Agriculture and fishery are the major resources of Malabang. They are also widely known for coconut production. Warehouses of coconut can be found along the major highways of Malabang. Mills in barangay Matalin produce cassava flour. Other agricultural products produced in Malabang include corn, vegetables and rice. Malabang also plays a major role in fishery production. They are known for puzan (a preserved fish product) and bakas (smoked dried fish). Malabang is central to commerce and trade activity in the coastal area of Lanao del Sur.

The municipality has a mayor, the head of the municipality of Malabang, a municipal vice mayor, and eight municipal councilors. The municipality also has one Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) representative and one ABC representative from the Punong Barangay (barangay captains).

Although listed as 4th class municipality, all levels of education are attainable in Malabang, a center of learning in the coastal area of Lanao del Sur. Multiple colleges are present, including the community branch of Mindanao State University. Arabic studies are also offered at all levels. Other notable secondary school in Malabang is Our Lady of Peace High School, a Catholic school and Malabang National High School