Cotabato (kotäbä'to), city (1990 pop. 127,065), Maguindanao prov., W Mindanao, the Philippines, near the mouth of the Mindanao River on Moro Gulf. It has long been a Muslim center. Its port serves a vast, fertile farm area which, as the object of a government colonization program, has had a great population increase since World War II. Cotabato prov. is a focus of coffee cultivation and has important pineapple and peanut crops. Rubber is also produced, and lumbering is a major industry. The provincial capital is Pagalungan.

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