Tacurong

Tacurong, officially the City of Tacurong (Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Tacurong; Maguindanaon: Kuta nu Takurung, Jawi: كوت نو تكروڠ; Filipino: Lungsod ng Tacurong), is a component city in the province of Sultan Kudarat, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 109,319 people.^[4]

Tacurong
Component city
City of Tacurong
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	تكروڠ
Tacurong Road to Isulan
Flag Seal
Nickname:  City of Goodwill
Motto:  Uswag Tacurong! (Progress Tacurong!)
Map of Sultan Kudarat with Tacurong highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Tacurong Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 6°41′N 124°40′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Soccsksargen
Province	Sultan Kudarat
District	1st district
Founded	August 3, 1951
Cityhood	August 16, 2000
Barangays	20 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Joseph George L. Lechonsito
• Vice Mayor	Lina O. Montilla
• Representative	Bai Rihan M. Sakaluran
• City Council	Members [2] Ralen T. Bernardo Lalaine J. Montilla Jose A. Lim V Harvey P. Legas Carlos Borromeo P. Segura Jr. Geronimo P. Arzagon Bernardino L. Umadhay Jr. Geraldine L. Collado Nestor D. Casador Remo Y. Flores
• Electorate	60,960 voters (2022)
Area [3]
• Total	153.40 km2 (59.23 sq mi)
Elevation	71 m (233 ft)
Highest elevation	1,663 m (5,456 ft)
Lowest elevation	7 m (23 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[4]
• Total	109,319
• Density	710/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
• Households	25,261
Demonym(s)	Tacurongnon Takurungen Takur
Economy
• Income class	4th city income class
• Poverty incidence	15.40 % (2021)[5]
• Revenue	₱ 1,070 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 2,508 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 766.5 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 429.6 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative (SUKELCO)
• Water	Sultan Kudarat Water District (SKWD)
• Cable TV	Sultan Cable System Inc. (SULCASI)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	9800
PSGC	126511000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)64
Native languages	Maguindanao Hiligaynon Tagalog
Website	www.tacurong.gov.ph

Tacurong has a total land area of 15,340 hectares, the smallest in land area among the province's 12 municipalities but the most populous. Tacurong became a component city of Sultan Kudarat in 2000 by virtue of Republic Act No. 8805 in September 2000.^[6]

History

Tacurong was originally a barangay of the Municipality of Buluan. On August 3, 1951, it was created into a municipality by Executive Order Number 462 signed by the President Elpidio Quirino.^[7] At that time Tacurong had an estimated area of 40,000 hectares and 14 barangays. In 1961, the southern portion of Tacurong was separated to form the municipality of Tantangan, and in 1973, Tacurong lost some of its eastern portions when the municipality of President Quirino was created.^[8]

Cityhood

Main article: Cities of the Philippines

Following the efforts of Angelo O. Montilla, the Congressman of the Legislative District of Sultan Kudarat, Tacurong was made the first component city in the Province of Sultan Kudarat in 2000 by virtue of House Bill No. 6497 and Republic Act 8805. This was confirmed by the “Takurs” in a plebiscite held on September 18, 2000.^[8][9]

Security incidents

Tacurong City has the most number of bombing incidents in Southern Philippines since 2000,^{[citation needed]} as the city reportedly has the presence of different extortion and terrorist groups like Abu Sayyaf, BIFF and NPA.

New Year's Eve bombing

December 31, 2017, 11:05 PM, 2 casualties and 17 hurt during the Improvised Explosive Device blast in Villa Garde KTV Bar National Highway, Barangay Buenaflor.^[10]

April 3, 2017 bombing

Eight persons, mostly workers of an electric cooperative, were injured after an improvised bomb went off along the national highway in Tacurong City on Monday morning (Apr. 3), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) is the suspected group who is responsible for the terrorist attack.^[11]

Twin bombing

Seven people were hurt after two explosions rocked Tacurong City on April 17, 2017, the first explosion took place at 6:40 p.m. on the rooftop of Dragon Gas Station along National Highway in Barangay Isabela. Minutes later, or at 7:10 p.m., another explosion occurred, this time at the gas station's compound.^[12]

February 2, 2016 bombing

Improvise explosive device (IED) rocked Tacurong City two hours after the convoy of vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo left the city on Tuesday afternoon. The bomb exploded around 2 p.m. near the national highway along Jose Abad Santos Street in Tacurong City. Three people were reportedly wounded.^[13]

Yellow bus bombing attempt

The powerful bomb fashioned from two 60 mm mortars as main charge and mobile phone as trigger mechanism was found at 10:50 a.m. April 2015 inside Yellow Bus Line unit with body number 9208 at a police checkpoint in Barangay Dos along the Tacurong-Isulan highway. The bus was heading toward Isulan from Tacurong City when subjected to inspection by police after Army and policemen received a report about the suspected bomb inside the bus.^[14]

November 6, 2022 bombing

A homemade bomb went off in a bus as it was approaching a transport terminal in Tacurong City. The explosion killed a passenger and wounded 10 others.^[15]

Geography

Tacurong is in South Central Mindanao and the only city in the province of Sultan Kudarat. It is 92 kilometres (57 mi) from General Santos, 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Cotabato City and 178 kilometres (111 mi) from Davao City. It is situated at the crossroads of Davao-GenSan-Cotabato highways.^[16]

Barangays

Tacurong is politically subdivided into 20 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Name	PSGC
Baras	126511001
Buenaflor	126511002
Calean	126511003
Carmen	126511004
D'Ledesma	126511005
Gansing	126511006
Kalandagan	126511007
Lancheta	126511023
Lower Katungal	126511008
New Isabela	126511010
New Lagao	126511011
New Passi	126511012
Poblacion	126511013
Rajah Muda	126511014
San Antonio	126511015
San Emmanuel	126511016
San Pablo	126511019
San Rafael	126511022
Tina	126511021
Upper Katungal	126511020

Climate

Climate data for Tacurong
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31 (88)	31 (88)	32 (90)	32 (90)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (87)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	64 (2.5)	45 (1.8)	59 (2.3)	71 (2.8)	140 (5.5)	179 (7.0)	192 (7.6)	198 (7.8)	163 (6.4)	147 (5.8)	113 (4.4)	66 (2.6)	1,437 (56.5)
Average rainy days	12.2	10.3	12.7	15.7	26.0	27.4	28.1	28.2	26.0	26.7	22.9	16.6	252.8
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[17]

Demographics

Population census of Tacurong

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1960 15,051 —     1970 29,796 +7.06% 1975 37,255 +4.58% 1980 45,908 +4.26%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 58,785 +2.50% 1995 69,822 +3.28% 2000 76,354 +1.94% 2007 82,546 +1.08%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2010 89,188 +2.86% 2015 98,316 +1.87% 2020 109,319 +2.11%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20]

Maguindanaons are the native inhabitants of Tacurong city while Hiligaynons are originally from Iloilo in Visayas.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Tacurong

10 20 30 40 2000 33.05 2003 15.89 2006 19.60 2009 18.47 2012 22.15 2015 16.35 2018 10.30 2021 15.40 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Tacurong City is the commercial hub of the province of Sultan Kudarat, catering the needs of nearby municipalities and the province of Maguindanao.

Culture

Baras Bird Sanctuary

Tacurong held the 8th "Sultan Kudarat Bird Festival" at the 2.5-hectare Baras Bird Sanctuary, the largest nesting site of 20,000 bird species, especially egrets and herons, on May 10–11, 2024.^[29]

Infrastructure

Transportation

The city has an integrated terminal which vans and buses currently assigned on designated place. Tacurong to the far side places in their curriculums and places.

Bus companies operating in Tacurong City:

• Yellow Bus Line, Inc. (General Santos/Koronadal City/Davao City/Isulan)
• Rural Transit Mindanao, Inc. (General Santos/Cagayan de Oro)
• Husky Tours (Cotabato City/General Santos City)

Health care facilities

Tacurong serves as the premier Health Care Center in the province of Sultan Kudarat and nearby provinces.

St. Louis Hospital is a modern tertiary hospital in the city, equipped with modern facilities such as 16-Slices CT Scan and the first and only Gamma Camera in Region 12.

Other notable facilities include:

• Tomboc - Salayog Hospital
• Quijano Clinic and Hospital
• Sandig Medical Clinic and Hospital
• Sultan Kudarat Doctors Hospital
• Medical Mission Group Hospital and Health Services Cooperative
• Lu Clinic and Hospital

Education

Tacurong City is also a center of education in Sultan Kudarat. Learners and Student from neighboring towns and municipalities, even from outside the Sultan Kudarat like Tantangan in South Cotabato and the municipalities in Maguindanao will go in the city to attend school.

Private schools

Table below is the list of private schools in the Tacurong City offering different curriculum levels.

Name of School	Curriculum Offerings
	Primary	Elementary / Grade School	Secondary	Tertiary
Notre Dame of Tacurong College	✔	✔	✔	✔
Good Shepherd's Vision for Excellent Education	✔	✔	✔	✔
VMC Asian College Foundation, Inc.		✔	✔	✔
Southern Mindanao Institute Technology		✔	✔	✔
STI College Tacurong			✔ (Senior High Only)	✔
Quezon Colleges of Southern Philippines				✔
Southcentral Mindanao Institute of Science and Technology, Inc.			✔	✔
St. John Learning Center, Inc.		✔	✔
Notre Dame - Siena College of Tacurong		✔	✔
Siloam ABC Learning Center	✔	✔	✔
Rockfort Preparatory School Inc.	✔	✔	✔
Children's Grace of Mary Tutorial and Learning Center, Inc.	✔	✔	✔
Jean Piaget School Inc.	✔	✔
Tacurong Alliances Learning Center	✔	✔
Tacurong St. Benedict Learning Center & Values School	✔	✔
Tacurong SDA Elementary School	✔	✔
Montessori Learning Center - Tacurong	✔	✔
I-Up School of Isulan - Tacurong	✔
Cherubim Methodist Learning Center	✔

Public schools

Table below is the list of public schools and university in the Tacurong City

Public Tertiary College / University
Campus	University	Barangay Address
Tacurong City	Sultan Kudarat State University	Poblacion
ACCESS		EJC Montilla

Public Elementary Schools[30]
District / Cluster	School	Barangay Address
Central Tacurong	Tacurong Pilot Elementary School	Poblacion
North Tacurong	Dr. Manuel J. Griño Memorial Central School	Griño
	Maria A. Montilla Memorial Elementary School	EJC Montilla
	Abang-Suizo Elementary School	Buenaflor
	Buenaflor Elementary School
	San Antonio Elementary School	San Antonio
	New Lagao Elementary School	New Lagao
West Tacurong	New Isabela Central Elementary School	New Isabela
	J. Hector Lacson Elementary School	Calean
	Maria Z. Bayya Elementary School	New Carmen
	Kalandagan Elementary School	Kalandagan
South Tacurong	Josue Alcasid Elementary School
	Rajah Muda Elementary School	Rajah Muda
	Rajah Muda Elementary School - BEAM Life
	Upper Katungal Elementary School	Upper Katungal
	Elisa P. Bernardo Memorial Elementary School - Main	Baras
	Elisa P. Bernardo Memorial Elementary School - BEAM
	Lourdes Pama Elementary School
	Lancheta - Magallon Elementary School	Lancheta
East Tacurong	Amado Fernandez Sr. Central School	San Pablo
	Tina Elementary School	Tina
	Pedregosa-Acosta Elementary School
	San Rafael Elementary School	San Rafael
	Victorina P. Dasmariñas Elementary School	D'Ledesma
	Casilda P. Venus Elementary School	Katungal
	San Emmanuel Elementary School	San Emmanuel

Public Secondary Schools[30]
School	Barangay Address
Virginia F. Griño National High School ( formerly Virginia F. Griño Memorial National High School)	Griño
Tacurong National High School	New Isabela
San Emmanuel National High School	San Emmanuel
Apolinario S. Bernardo National High School	Baras
Rajah Muda Elementary School	Rajah Muda
San Pablo National High School (formerly San Emmanuel National High School - San Pablo Annex)	San Pablo
Upper Katungal National High School (formerly Tacurong National High School - Upper Katungal Annex)	Upper Katungal

Sister cities

• Iloilo City^[31]
• Cotabato City^[32]