[4] It bordered Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, Sultan Kudarat to the south, and Illana Bay to the west.

Its capital of Kuta Watu (modern-day Cotabato) formed the sultanate's heartland but its influence extended from the Zamboanga Peninsula to Sarangani Bay and Davao.

Despite this, the city would later serve as the provisional capital of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and host line agency offices for the province.

[13] On November 23, 2009, a 2010 gubernatorial election caravan supporting Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan, was attacked.

[14] Fifty-seven people were killed, including Mangudadatu's wife and sisters, supporters, local journalists, and bystanders.

[16] President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo officially declared martial law in the province of Maguindanao on December 5, 2009, Saturday morning.

1959 declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao, except for certain areas identified as bailiwicks of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists.

[18] The declaration of martial law led to the "arrests without warrants" of other members of the Ampatuan clan who have been linked to the November 23 massacre of 58 civilians.

[20][21] In February 2016, Maguindanao experienced the effects of the 2014–16 El Niño, causing destruction on rice and corn fields due to drought.

[22] In the 17th Congress, then House Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra Sema (barred by law to run for another term in her current district in 2019) introduced a bill on March 2, 2017, seeking to establish a new province called Maguindanao North.

A substitute bill was later authored by both Maguindanao representatives along with Tarlac Third District Rep. Noel Villanueva, and approved in the final reading in 2020.

[24] In the Senate, three bills were also filed seeking for the same division with Sen. Bong Revilla pursuing instead the same naming proposal as Sinsuat.

[32] Maguindanao was situated in the central section of Mindanao, bordered by Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, Sultan Kudarat to the south, and Illana Bay to the west.

The Iranuns which dominate the northern towns of Parang, Barira, Buldon and Matanog made up the second largest group with 18.4 percent.

[9] The first appointed governor, Simeon Datumanong, held office in Limpongo,[43] a former barangay in Maganoy which is now part of the municipality of Datu Hoffer Ampatuan.

In 1977 following the resignation of Candao, President Ferdinand Marcos moved the province's seat of government to the municipality of Sultan Kudarat (hometown of the newly appointed governor Sanggacala Baraguir) by virtue of Presidential Decree No.

[45] During his term Baraguir held office at the then-newly constructed provincial capitol in that municipality's Barangay Simuay Crossing.

[43] In an attempt to legitimize the restoration of Maganoy's status as the seat of provincial government, Batas Pambansa Blg.

[4] A new ₱218-million provincial capitol complex, inaugurated in 2009 in the presence of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,[50] was located adjacent to the homes of the Ampatuans,[43] and sat on a piece of Amaptuan clan land that had not been legally deeded to the government.

[51] The Ampatuans were even known to spend more time within the "satellite offices" they set up within their private properties, despite though the new capitol being located adjacent to their homes.

78, dated May 3, 2011, further allowed the transfer of the legislative branch of the provincial government (Sangguniang Panlalawigan) to the rehabilitated old capitol site in Barangay Simuay Crossing, Sultan Kudarat.

[4] This effectively made both Buluan and Sultan Kudarat – located 120 kilometers apart by road – the seats of the executive and legislative branches of provincial government respectively.

11550 officially designated Buluan as the capital of the mother municipality of Maguindanao del Sur where Shariff Aguak is also located.