Maasim

Maasim was first created as a municipality of the then-undivided Cotabato through Executive Order No. 113, signed by President Diosdado Macapagal on October 1, 1964, consisting of 20 barrios of Kiamba and 2 sitios of then-municipality of General Santos; with the seat of government being designated at Barrio Maasim.^[5] However, its creation, among others, was declared void ab initio by the Supreme Court in its decision dated December 24, 1965.^[6]

It was eventually recreated through Republic Act No. 5866, enacted without executive approval on June 21, 1969, which constituted the same entities. At that time, both Kiamba and General Santos (having been converted into a city) had been included in the separate province of South Cotabato.^[7] Maasim, Kiamba, and five other municipalities of South Cotabato ultimately became part of Sarangani upon its establishment in 1992.^[8]

On September 9, 2026, several parcels of land at Barangay Malbang, with a total area of 142,569 square meters, was designated as a Special Economic Zones, to be known as Malbang Industrial Ecozone, through Proclamation No. 1428.^[9][10]

The majority of the population are Moro and Lumad origin. One of the indigenous peoples living in mountainous areas of Maasim is known as Bla'an.

Poverty incidence of Maasim (%)

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

The economy of Maasim is largely based on agriculture with a high level production of copra (dried coconut meat). Animal husbandry is the second biggest income earner, notably cattle farming. Other agricultural products are coconuts, maize, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, eggs, beef, and fish.

The economy has accelerated in the past decade,^[when?] driven by advances in global communication technology and the finishing of a modern highway that greatly improved trade and transport.