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The Cotabato Manobo of Philippines

The Cotabato Manobo of Philippines, numbering approximately 43,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Manobo people of southern Mindanao, centered in parts of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato, whose Cotabato Manobo language includes Tasaday and Blit varieties. They mostly adhere to Animism and Cotabato Manobo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Cotabato Manobo

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Cotabato Manobo (mta)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 43,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007663
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Pray for the Cotabato Manobo of Philippines

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

98%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cotabato Manobo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Manobo, Cotabato Speakers

Media Resources in Cotabato Manobo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cotabato Manobo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Philippines✓
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. and World Home Bible League✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cotabato Manobo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Cotabato Manobo are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Cotabato Manobo:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Cotabato Manobo of Philippines

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Manobo, Cotabato Across Countries (ROP3 - 102301) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Cotabato ManoboPG007663Cotabato ManoboPhilippines43,500No Longer UnreachedCotabato ManoboAnimism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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