General Santos
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General Santos Heneral Santos |
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| Highly Urbanized City | ||
| City of General Santos | ||
Aerial view of urban GenSan
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| Nickname(s): GenSan, Dadiangas "The Tuna Capital of the Philippines" |
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| Motto: Magandang GenSan: Beyond The Bay | ||
 Map of South Cotabato with General Santos City highlighted |
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.svg)
 General Santos
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| Coordinates: 6°07′N 125°10′E / 6.12°N 125.17°E | ||
| Country | Philippines | |
| Region | Soccsksargen (Region XII) | |
| Province | South Cotabato (geographically only) | |
| Districts | 1st District of South Cotabato | |
| Incorporated | August 18, 1947 | |
| Cityhood | 1968 | |
| Barangays | 26 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Ronnel Chua-Rivera (UNA) | |
| • Vice Mayor | Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles (UNA) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 492.86 km2 (190.29 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 15.0 m (49.2 ft) | |
| Population (2015 census) | ||
| • Total | 594,446 | |
| • Density | 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Gensanon | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | |
| ZIP code | 9500 | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)83 | |
| Income class | 1st city income class | |
| 126303000 | ||
| Electorate | 247,470 voters (2016) | |
| Languages | Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Filipino, English | |
| Website | www |
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General Santos, officially the City of General Santos (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Heneral Santos; Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Heneral Santos; Filipino: Lungsod ng Heneral Santos; previously known as Dadiangás, and abbreviated G.S.C. or GenSan), is the southernmost city in the Philippines. Classified as a highly urbanized first class city, General Santos is the 15th most populous city in the country with 594,446 inhabitants as per 2015 census. General Santos City is the regional center for commerce and industry of the Soccsksargen region, and geographically located within the province of South Cotabato but administered independent of it.
The nomadic B'laan people are the original inhabitants of General Santos, and traces of their early settlement of the area are found in the city's place names, which are derived from their vocabulary. Their name for the city, Dadiangas, is from the thorny Ziziphus spina-christi tree that was once abundant in the area and is now a protected species under Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Right Act of 2007. The B'laan tribe presently lives alongside the city's new generation of settlers and other immigrants.
Organized under the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) of the Commonwealth Government headed by President Manuel L. Quezon, General Paulino Santos led the relocation of 62 Christian settlers from Luzon to the shores of Sarangani Bay aboard the steam ship “Basilan” of Compañia Maritima on February 27, 1939. The 62 pioneers, mostly agricultural and trade graduates, were the first large batch of settlers to land in the area with the mission to industriously cultivate the region. After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more Christians from Luzon and the Visayas have subsequently moved into the area, gradually driving some of the resident B'laan to the mountains and lost their livelihood.
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