Department of Mindanao and Sulu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:Ph locator map mindanao and sulu.PNG

The modern provinces which were administered by the Department of Mindanao and Sulu

.The Department of Mindanao and Sulu was an agency of the United States colonial administration in the Philippine Islands tasked to administer all Muslim-dominated areas in the territory. It was established on July 23, 1914, pursuant to Act No. 2408, replacing the Moro Province after the latter was divided into the then districts of Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao, and Sulu.[1] It was later split into the current provinces/regions organized under the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, along with Agusan, Bukidnon and Surigao but excluding Lanao.[2]

It was eventually abolished in 1920, after the responsibility for the administration of Moro lands was transferred to the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes of the Philippines' Department of the Interior. It was headed by a governor, subordinate to the U.S. Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. Frank C. Carpenter served as its governor from 1914 to 1920.