Matalam, Cotabato
Encyclopedia
Matalam is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cotabato, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. According to LGMPS (as of 2009), it has a population of 69,364 people in 14,953 households.
Geography
Matalam is a palm shape municipality. It is centrally located right at the heart of the province of Cotabato. It is bounded on the east by the municipality of Kidapawan; on the west by Kabacan; on the south by M’lang and on the North bu Municipalities of President Roxas and Carmen. It lies along the Cotabato-Davao National Highway occupying the large portion of the famous Arakan Valley.Barangays
Matalam is politically subdivided into 34 barangayBarangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
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Climate
Matalam belongs to the 4th type of climate, which is characterized by a more or less even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. The municipality has an average rainfall of 13.63 inches (346 mm). The heaviest rainfall months of the year are May, June and July. The prevailing wind direction is from west to east. Matalam is geographically located outside typhoon belt. Normal condition temperature ranges from 28-38 degrees Celsius, the month of April being the hottest month, while the coldest month of the year is December.Natural resources
Mineral resources is found on the mountainous portion with properties such as shale sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, igneous rock and other volcanic materials.Investment opportunities
The development of Matalam as municipality is greatly associated with the history of Kabacan, its mother town. Matalam was a tiny community then.Matalam was finally recognized as developing community when it was formally separated from Kabacan and was created into a municipality in 1958. From then on, economic activity progressed.
Matalam's market and other commercial establishments are the hub of activity in the said area. Commercial establishments in the town include the following: bakeries, gasoline dealers, copra dealers, sari-sari stores, beta houses, carenderias, hardwares, grains retailers, fish dealers, and many more.
Rice, corn and copra are commodities which are very much in demand in the local trade. Due to lack of supply, rice and corn grits are sometimes brought in from the mainland. These are retailed in the market for local consumption.