Banga, officially the Municipality of Banga (; ; ; , Jawi: ايڠد نو باڠ), is a municipality in the province of South Cotabato, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 91,536 people.

Banga is situated in the northwest of the province of South Cotabato. The town derived its name from a palm tree known to the natives of the place as "Buanga" which during the pre-settlement time, predominantly grew in the area.

Banga is linked by a concrete national highway road from General Santos to the east and Cotabato City in the west.

History

The area was initially established as a Settlement District under the Allah Valley Project of the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) on March 4, 1941, with Gen. Paulino Santos serving as General Manager. On September 11, 1953, through Presidential Proclamation No. 612 issued by President Elpidio Quirino, it was separated from Koronadal and established as an independent municipality.

Geography

Barangays

Banga is politically subdivided into 22 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

  • Benitez (Poblacion)
  • Cabudian
  • Cabuling
  • Cinco (Barrio 5)
  • Derilon
  • El Nonok
  • Improgo Village (Poblacion)
  • Kusan (Barrio 8)
  • Lam-Apos
  • Lamba
  • Lambingi
  • Lampari
  • Liwanay (Barrio 1)
  • Malaya (Barrio 9)
  • Punong Grande (Barrio 2)
  • Rang-ay (Barrio 4)
  • Reyes (Poblacion)
  • Rizal (Barrio 3)
  • Rizal Poblacion
  • San Jose (Barrio 7)
  • San Vicente (Barrio 6)
  • Yangco Poblacion

Demographics

Climate

Education

College:

  • Santo Nino College Foundation, Inc.[https://sncfi.edu.ph/]
  • Green Valley College Foundation, Inc - Banga Campus

Secondary:

Elementary:

Notable personalities

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  • Orlando Quevedo - Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. A Cardinal since 2014, he was Archbishop of Cotabato from 1998 to 2018. He became a bishop in 1980.
  • Delfin Lorenzana - 36th Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines.

References

  • Banga Profile at PhilAtlas.com
  • Banga Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
  • [ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
  • Philippine Census Information