Lebak came into existence by virtue of Executive Order No. 82 dated August 18, 1947, Executive Order No. 195 dated December 31, 1948 and Executive Order No. 432 dated April 12, 1951, transferring the seat of government of Lebak from Kalamansig to Salaman, Lebak. Before this creation, Lebak was under two municipal districts. The municipal district of Lebak under the Municipality of Kiamba while the district of Salaman was under the Municipality of Dinaig.

Lebak is located on the eastern portion of the province. It is bounded on the North by the Municipality of Upi, on the South by the Municipality of Kalamansig, on the West by Celebes Sea and on the East by the Municipalities of Esperanza and Isulan , of the same province.

“Lebak” is a Muslim word meaning hollow because on the eastern part of Lebak is a mountain and on the western part is the Celebes Sea thus the hollow portion is between a mountain and the Sea.

In 1945, when the Americans took over the supervision of the Philippine Government, Marcelino A. Concha was still the Military Governor of the Empire Province of Cotabato. In the same year, Aurelio Freires, Sr. was appointed Municipal District Mayor of Salaman.

Location
Lebak is a coastal town separated from the mainland of Sultan Kudarat by mountain ranges. It is located on the Western portion of the Province of Sultan kudarat. It is bounded by the following: North- Municipality of South Upi; South- Municipality of Kalamansig; West – Celebes Sea; East – Municipality of Esperanza and Isulan.

Lebak is marked with hilly, mountainous ranges. It is about eight feet above sea level. The plains range from level to nearly level while uplands range from nearly level to hilly. Mountainous and gently rolling slopes are suitable for intensive rice and corn farming

Land Area
The approximate land area of the municipality of Lebak as of December 31, 1999 is 51,403.4445.369 hectares (assessed) roughly 514.034445 square kilometers. But for planning purposes, the area used is 47,000 hectares, pursuant to the DBM supported by the Land Management Bureau/ Bureau of Lands.

The municipality was formerly composed of 23 barangays and created 4 new barangays, Bolebak, Barurao II, Poblaciion II and Poblacion III.

Of the 27 barangays, Salangsang has the largest with 77.2850 sq. kms, followed by Keytodac with 63.8987 sq.kms, Villamonte with 46.4137 sq. kms and Poloy-Poloy with 338.8183 sq.kms. while Poblacion III has the smallest with 5.79411 sq. kms.

Political Subdivision
The municipality of Lebak is one of the twelve municipalities under Sultan Kudarat. Lebak is 168 Kilometers from Isulan, the capital town of Sultan Kudarat. As of 2000, the municipality has a total of 27 barangays.

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Plains/ Ranges
Lebak is marked with hilly, mountainous ranges. The plains range from level to nearly level while uplands range from nearly level to hilly mountainous and gently rolling slopes which are suitable for intensive rice and corn farming.

Hydrology/ Natural resources
The Municipality is rich in natural resources. Its fishing ground abounds with fish of various species for domestic consumption and export. Marine products bring substantial income to marginal fisherman. Fishing grounds is practically untapped.

The water resources of Lebak comprise Tran, Salaman and Barurao Rivers, the makin and Ebi Waterfalls, Nuling, Salangsang and Ebi Springs. Some are tapped for irrigation and other purposes.

Two sites in Tran River are potential hydropower plant capable of producing 52 megawatts. Quarrying is identified in Barangays of Poloy-Poloy, Salaman, Kati, tran, Basak, New Calinog and Villamonte.

Several caves have guano deposits of commercial volume. Coal, the untapped mineral is detected in several locations.

Climate
Lebak has a mild climate with evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year. Being located outside of the typhoon belt, it does not experience heavy tropical depressions, typhoons and devastating winds.

Soil Types
The soil type of Lebak are mountain soils undifferentiated, San Manuel Silty loam aggregating around 17,560 hectares or 37.36 % of its total land area are found in the western part from both the North and South directions. This soil characterizes the level or flat lands of the area. The bigger 29,440 or 62.64 % of Lebak’s area are classified as Soils Undifferentiated. This soil type make up the other half of Lebak going towards the eastern portion.

Language/ Dialects
The 1995 Census of Population showed that 46 % or 15,558 households speaks Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, 13 % or 4,468 households speaks Maguindanao, 10.6 % or 1,975 households speaks Cebuano, 7 % or 2,340 speaks Ilocano. Others are Manobo being spoken by 5 % or 1,910 households, Tiruray being spoken by 9.5 % or 2,340 households, Tagalog being spoken by 1.5 % or 538 and 9 % comprises other dialects.

Religious Sector/ Religion
There are 4 major religious groups in the municipality of Lebak. These are the Roman Catholic which comprises 62 % of the total population, Islam, 15 %, Protestants, 8 % and UCCP, 7 %. The remaining percentage are distributed to Evangelical and other religion which is 8 %.

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