Fort Pikit is a Spanish colonial era stone fortification[1] which was built in what is now known as the town of Malidegao in Cotabato.[2] The fortification consists of two towers installed with artillery batteries and a rubble wall which measures 38 meters (125ft) a side. It was intended to house a military officer, 60 infantrymen and 6 artillerymen by its Spanish builders.[3]
It is situated at the back of the Municipal Hall of Pikit[a].[1] on a hill facing the National Highway.[4]
History
US landing craft carrying 24th Infantry Division troops up Mindanao River for Fort Pikit attack, April 1945
Fort Pikit was built in 1893 by the Spanish at the time the Spanish colonial government was actively launching a campaign against the Moro in Mindanao.[5] When the United States took over the administration of the Philippines from Spain, the American colonial government gained control of the fort in 1902[1] and used it their own campaign in Mindanao. Still within the American colonial period, the Philippine Constabulary assumed control of the fort.[5] During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines of World War II the fort was seized by Imperial Japanese forces. The Allied forces regained control of the fort as part of their Eastern Mindanao campaign.[1]
The fortification was declared as a national landmark, the first in Cotabato province in 2012.[5]
Heritage designation
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) designated Fort Pikit as a National Historical Landmark in 2012. Under the administration of Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, the provincial government of Cotabato worked for at least a year with the municipal government of Pikit under Mayor Sumulong Sultan for the designation. The NHCP sent a team to Fort Pikit on March 12, 2012 to conduct validation, investigation of historical facts related to the fortification.[4] The agency declared Fort Pikit as national historical landmark two months later on April 24, 2012.[6]
