Bangsamoro Organic Law in the context of "Bangsamoro"

Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanaon: Kuta nu Kutawatu, Jawi: كوت نو كوتوات‎; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Cotabato; Filipino: Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a independent component city in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 383,383 people, making it as the most populated city under the independent component city status.

Cotabato City was formerly a part and the regional center of Region XII, but due to the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, it is now part of Bangsamoro and serves as the regional center. Being an independent component city, it is not a subject to regulation from the Provincial Government of Maguindanao del Norte where it is geographically located. The Philippine Statistics Authority also lists Cotabato City as statistically independent. It was the capital of the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

The 2019 Bangsamoro autonomy plebiscite was a two-part plebiscite held in Mindanao, Philippines, that ratified the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as well as the scope of the said region.

Under the organic law, the government would have to hold the plebiscite not more than 150 days from the signing of the BOL into law (July 26, 2018) but not earlier than 90 days from the law's signing. The first part of the plebiscite was held on January 21, 2019, where voters from the ARMM voted regarding the BOL's ratification and residents of Cotabato City and Isabela City voted for or against their cities' inclusion into the then-proposed region. The second part was held on February 6 to potentially expand the BARMM; with voters from six municipalities in Lanao del Norte and 67 barangays in Cotabato province voting for or against their localities' inclusion into the BARMM.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; Arabic: جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية, romanized: Jabha Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyya) is an Islamic armed group split from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was founded in 1977, based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands. The armed wing of the group was the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF.

In July 2018, the Philippine government passed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, giving more autonomy to Muslims. In return, MILF announced that it would disarm its 30,000 fighters.