REGION XII
SOCCSKSARGEN (pronounced [sokˈsardʒɛn]) is a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and is officially designated as Region XII. The name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The region is more formally known by its older name Central Mindanao. The regional center is Koronadal City located in the province of South Cotabato.[2] Cotabato City, though geographically within the boundaries of the province of Maguindanao, itself is part of SOCCSKSARGEN, and is independent of that province. Maguindanao province is, in fact, a part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which has its seat in Cotabato City. SOCCSKSARGEN and the province of Maguindanao were once part of the original Cotabato province.
The people of South Cotabato have diverse heritages. Ilonggos from Panay and Negros in the Visayas settled the municipalities of Norala, Banga, Surallah, Sto. Niño and the province’s capital, Koronadal, and the Visayan languages Hiligaynon and Kiniray-a are the province’s major communication media.
On the other hand, people from the Ilocano speaking regions of Luzon settled in Tampakan, Tantangan and Tupi, and the Ilocano language may still be heard spoken in these towns. The Visayan language, Cebuano is also the main language of the municipality of Polomolok and is one of the main languages of Tupi (along with Ilonggo and Tagalog, which slightly differs from Manila Tagalog). Both towns are near to Cebuano-speaking General Santos City.