The Official Seal

At the center of the seal is the handle of the kris, slightly drawn symbolizing authority used by the major tribes in the area. White in color as it stands for purity, and only slightly drawn as it is for peace. The crescent symbolizes the predominance of its Muslim populace. Its yellow color typifies the social class structure of its major tribes. The four small stars represent its component provinces, namely: Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The big star represent the Republic of the Philippines. The background is green to show its fertile soil, rich vegetation and animal life and abundant natural resources.

Creation

The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created in august 1, 1989 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6734. However, it was actually organized and inaugurated on November 6, 1990 at Cotabato City, the seat of the Regional Government.

Geography and Location

The ARMM is composed of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, with 83 municipalities and 2,126 barangays. The rich and vast land resources of the new region stretches over an area of about 11,996 square kilometers. The Autonomous Region is endowed with rich agricultural and marine resources which have great potentials for food and commercial production to supply increasing demands from both local and foreign markets.

Geographically, the Region may be sub-divided into two: the Mainland Mindanao provinces composed of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, and the Island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The Mainland Provinces is most likely where the Regional Industrial Center (RIC) will be placed. agri-based processing firms are already identified to be located at the center. The RIC will be strategically located where the international Polloc Port and the Awang airport can serve as the major inter-regional as well as international transshipment points of agri-based and processed products. The mainland provinces shall continue their relations with nearby p[provinces and cities with other regions to maintain regional complementation rather than competition. Meanwhile, the island provinces with two growth centers situated at Jolo and Bongao in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, respectively, are geared towards the development of their marine-based products, like seaweeds farming and fishing industry. These island provinces known as the southern backdoor shall continue to maintain its relation with neighboring Asian Countries through barter trading.

The ARMM is located in the southernmost part of the Philippines. It is bounded on the north by the Province of Lanao del Norte and east by Davao del Norte; on the south by the Celebes Sea and by the Sulu Sea on the west.

The climate in the Autonomous Region is characterized by generally moderate and has an even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. The region has its dry and wet seasons and is generally spared from typhoons throughout the year. The region has also a number of natural resources which when tapped, could provide viable investment. These region has red and white clay for the manufacture of brick potteries and ceramics; limestone for the manufacture of cement; bronze and copper for the making of brasswares; and potential sources of gold and marble.

On the ARMM's total area of 1,199,647 hectares (11,996.47 square kilometers), 46.7 percent are classified as alienable and disposable lands; 53.22 percent are of timberland while the remaining 5.234 percent are unclassified lands.