Soccsksargen, formerly known as Central Mindanao, is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region XII. Located in south-central Mindanao, its name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one highly urbanized city. The regional center is in Koronadal, located in the province of South Cotabato, and the center of commerce and industry is General Santos, which is the most populous city in the region.
Image: View of Sarangani Bay at Queen Tuna Park 3
Image: Lebak Shoreline
Image: Asik asik Falls in Alamada, North Cotabato
Image: The Placid Lake of Lake Sebu
Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also includes its adjacent islands, notably the Sulu Archipelago. According to the 2020 census, Mindanao has a population of 26,252,442 people, while the entire island group has an estimated population of 27,021,036 according to the 2021 census.
Composite satellite image of Mindanao captured by Sentinel-2 in 2019
The Agusan image statue (900–950 CE) discovered in 1917 on the banks of the Wawa River near Esperanza, Agusan del Sur
Christian Filipinos, who served under the Spanish Army, searching for Moro rebels during the Spanish–Moro conflict, c. 1887. The insurgency in Mindanao can be traced to the early 16th century.
Two Spanish missionaries baptizing a Moro convert to Catholicism, circa 1890.