Old Kaabakan

When the Bangsamoro was created in 2019 to supplant the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 63 barangays in the province of Cotabato were grouped with the newer autonomous region in the second part of the plebiscite held in February 6.

[2] By March 2020, these barangays were designated as a Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro region.

[5] Other proposals for the town's name included Northern Kabacan[6] or Laya[7] A plebiscite was held on April 13, 2024, and voters approved all eight bills reconstituting the SGA barangays to eight municipalities including Old Kaabakan, where 6,611 voted in favor of its creation while four voted against.

Officers-in-charge (OIC) was selected by BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim to fill positions in the municipal government pending regular elections in 2025.

The municipality remains under the jurisdiction of the Special Geographic Area pending the creation of a new province.