THE MAGUINDANAON OF BARANGAY BATOMELONG, GENERAL SANTOS CITY

The pioneering Maguindanaon settlers of Barangay Batomelong settled in the area in 1940. The families of Usman Bentaib, Samboang Makalido and Patricio Moraga were the early Maguindanaon settlers of Batomelong. They came from the neighboring areas of Batomelong such as Muhammad Village and Minanga, Buayan. Common reasons for settling in Batomelong were ownership of land and marrying a local resident of the place.
This research aims to identify who were and how the Maguindanaon settled in Barangay Batomelong. Furthermore, the study focused on what were the reasons for their residency in Barangay Batomelong and also what were their contributions. The study obtained data from the Barangay Officials and some Maguindanaon residents of Batomelong community through the use of interviews and observation.
The Maguindanaon settlers of Barangay Batomelong have a considerable contribution in the labor force of the place. Most of them are farmers that produce rice, corn, banana and vegetables which are sold in the locality and in the city markets. Some Maguindanaons are engaged in different businesses such as sari-sari store and buy and sell. Some of them also are teachers, politicians and other professionals. Taxes collected from these economic activities of the Maguindanaons contributed a lot in the local IRA of the barangay to support its projects and programs for the community and people of the place.
The Maguindanaon of Batomelong dominates the politics of the locality. These elected officials were responsible for the establishment of various infrastructures in the community such as road networks in the different puroks, the barangay hall, health center, the water system, gymnasium and the kasfala hall. Some of them also donated
lands for the school site and for the residential lots of its constituents.