Historical Background of the Municipality

Sto. Niño was formerly named Barrio 13, the last barrio established in 1947 under the Norala Settlement District by the then National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA). In 1964, Sto. Niño Parish Church was established in the Barrio with Fr. Francis Hanlon as the first parish priest. Barrio 13 has adopted the name of its patron saint, Sto. Niño, hence, “Trece” and “Sto. Niño” is one same Barrio 13 of Norala in the province of South Cotabato.

The municipality of Sto. Niño was created on December 23, 1980, by the authority of Batas PambansaBilang 90. It was thoroughly raffled by the people through a plebiscite on April 7, 1981. The municipality comprised nine barangays: (7) barangays detached from the mother municipality of Norala, and two (2) barangays from the Municipality of Banga. Barangay Sajaneba, formerly Sitio Sara of Barrio 13, was created the 10^th barangay in 1991.

Legal Mandate

In 1980, Batas Pambansa Blg. 1220 was filed creating Sto. Niño as a municipality.  The bill was approved in December 18, 1980, and was signed into law on December 23, 1980.  The same was overwhelmingly ratified by the people in the plebiscite of April 7, 1981. The area is now administratively divided into 10 barangays, which cover a total land area of 10,973 hectares.

Income Classification

Sto. Niño has ten (10) barangays and classified as “Third Class Municipality” as per MC No. 01-M(69)-08 dated November 25, 2008.

Geographical Location

The Municipality of Sto. Niño is located in the southwest of the Province of South Cotabato.  It is a landlocked area, bounded on the north by its mother municipality, Norala, on the north-east side by the Municipality of Banga, on the south-east by the Municipality of Surallah, and on the south-west by the Municipality of Bagumbayan and Isulan (Province of Sultan Kudarat). 

Sto. Niño is approximately two hundred forty-two (242) kilometers from Davao City (the regional center of Southern Mindanao), thirty-two (32) kilometers from the City of Koronadal, and ninety-two (92) kilometers from General Santos City.

Land Area

Sto. Niño has a total land area of 10,973 hectares, which constitutes about 1.77 percent of the total area of the entire Province of South Cotabato.   Barangay M. Roxas, which is about 17.25 percent of the total land area of the municipality, is the largest barangay while Barangay Sajaneba is the smallest barangay with an area of 274 hectares representing 2.50 percent of the area of the municipality. While  Poblacion has 1,874 has. Or 17.07% is considered as the urban barangay and its center of commerce and trade.