The Sarangani Manobo of Philippines

The Sarangani Manobo of Philippines, numbering approximately 75,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are one of eight Manobo subgroups of Mindanao in the Philippines, descended from early Malay migrants and traditionally called river people, led by a datu in swidden-farming villages sited near forests and rivers. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Sarangani Manobo is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Sarangani Manobo (mbs)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 75,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007767
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Pray for the Sarangani 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sarangani Manobo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Manobo, Sarangani Speakers

Media Resources in Sarangani Manobo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Sarangani Manobo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Sarangani Manobo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sarangani 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 Sarangani 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 Sarangani Manobo of Philippines

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Manobo, Sarangani Across Countries (ROP3 - 108716) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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