Pangutaran

Pangutaran فَڠُتَرَنْ Pulau Bangkuruan (Malay) Puh Pangutaran (Siyama)
Municipality
Municipality of Pangutaran
Map of Sulu with Pangutaran highlighted
Interactive map of Pangutaran
Map credit Pangutaran Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 6°18′N 120°35′E / 6.3°N 120.58°E / 6.3; 120.58
Country	Philippines
Region	Zamboanga Peninsula
Province	Sulu
District	1st district
Named for	Shariff Pangutaran
Barangays	16 (see Barangays)
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Asri S. Taib
• Vice Mayor	Alradzmin A. Nanoh
• Representative	Samier A. Tan
• Municipal Council	Members Adzmer A. Hassan Omar J. Samomoh Jimmy A. Basari Radzma M. Ebni Faizal T. Jainal Kiyong T. Kuyong Sain K. Haiyon Abdurajik M. Abdulmajid
• Electorate	19,150 voters (2025)
Area
• Total	258.10 km2 (99.65 sq mi)
Elevation	1.0 m (3.3 ft)
Highest elevation	565 m (1,854 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)
• Total	41,575
• Density	161.08/km2 (417.20/sq mi)
• Households	6,592
Demonym	Siyama Al-Pangutaran or Siyamal
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	15.5 % (2023)
• Revenue	₱ 218.6 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 424.9 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 191.7 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 236 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Sulu Electric Cooperative (SULECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	7414
PSGC	1906608000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)68
Native languages	Pangutaran Sama Tausug Tagalog

Pangutaran, officially the Municipality of Pangutaran (Tausūg: Kawman sin Pangutaran; Pangutaran Sama: Lahat Pangutaran; Filipino: Bayan ng Pangutaran), is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 41,575 people.

Geography

Pangutaran is part of an island group in the Sulu Archipelago. In his 1908 work The History of Sulu, Najeeb M. Saleeby described the Pangutaran Group as lying west of the main Sulu Group and north of the sixth parallel. He identified Pangutaran, Pandukan, North Ubian, Laparan, and Tababas or Cap among the principal islands of the group.

History

One of the early published accounts mentioning Pangutaran dates to the eighteenth century. During his voyage through the Sulu Archipelago in November 1774, British navigator Thomas Forrest recorded visiting an island he called "Pangatarran". Forrest wrote that he sighted the island on November 15 and anchored near an old ruined fort. The following day, he encountered inhabitants of the island and people from Sulu. He described Pangatarran as a long, flat island where coconuts and guavas grew. Forrest's visit to Pangatarran in November 1774 has also been discussed in a University of California study of his voyage.

In 1908, Najeeb M. Saleeby described the Pangutaran Group in The History of Sulu as an island group west of the main Sulu Group. He identified Pangutaran, Pandukan, North Ubian, Laparan, and Tababas or Cap among its principal islands. Saleeby described the islands as generally low and flat and reported that the inhabitants of the group at the time were predominantly Samal.

During the American colonial period, Pangutaran was organized as a municipal district of the Province of Sulu. A 1916 executive order of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu defined the Municipal District of Pangutaran as including Pangutaran, Pandukan, North Ubian, Tikul, Usada, Kunilan, Malikut, Basbas, Kulasain, Tubigan, North Tiumabal, and adjacent smaller islands. The district capital was designated at Sumbahan, and the reorganization took effect on January 1, 1916.

Pangutaran remained a municipal district until the postwar period. Executive Order No. 355, issued by President Carlos P. Garcia on August 26, 1959, converted Pangutaran and several other municipal districts in Sulu into municipalities. The conversion was made effective retroactively from July 1, 1958.

Demographics

Economy

Poverty Incidence of Pangutaran

Etymology

The name PANGUTARAN is originally after the "Shariff Pangutaran" name, the first Filipino people who discover and inhabited the island together with the family members (Belong to Salip Descendants). But before what we know today as PANGUTARAN it is also called "Pulau Bangkuruan" by Malay speakers means The island with the Bangkudo tree(s) (Morinda citrifolia). The word phrase "Siyama" stands un impossible originated from the Hindi language meaning "Forbearance" or "kshama:क्षमा" because sheikh Karim Al-Makhdum arrived (in Bohe' Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines in 1380 and propagated Islam) in the Philippines contemporary with Hindi traders from India.