Cotabato City is Home

COTABATO CITY (June 26, 2016) -- In Cotabato City, we prove that everyone from all walks of life, from every religion, and from every tribe, is at peace with each other. You can see that in the festivals that we equally celebrate every year.

At the beginning of the year, we adorn our City Plaza with decorations for the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Cotabato City is home to several Filipino Chinese businessmen who do not only make it big in city but also in other places as well.

During the middle of the year, we also celebrate with our Muslim brothers and sisters, the Holy Month of Ramadan. Just like what the photos below show, we fill our City Plaza and our light posts with decorative lights and other adornments that symbolize the Islamic faith.

And then by the end of the year, we join our Christian brethren as they celebrate the Christmas season. At the same time, December is the month of the City's celebration of the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival so a lot of grand activities are being conducted for the enjoyment of every Cotabateño and out visitors.

And these are just the celebrations. Day to day we experience this kind of respect as we see a young group of friends from diverse beliefs and cultures who share a meal, we see workers who help each other, and we see everyone protect one another.

This is Cotabato City. We may not be as big or as urbanized as other cities. But our people are our biggest asset. Our strength, our resilience, and our peaceful disposition is what makes us push forward and work for a better tomorrow. (Halima K. Satol-Ibrahim)