The direct correspondence between Co band ferromagnetism and structural parameters is investigated in the pnictide oxides $R$CoPO for different rare-earth ions ($R$ = La, Pr, Nd, Sm) by means of muon-spin spectroscopy and {it ab-initio} calculations, complementing our results published previously [G. Prando {it et al.}, {it Phys. Rev. B} {bf 87}, 064401 (2013)]. Both the transition temperature to the ferromagnetic phase $T_{_{textrm{C}}}$ and the volume of the crystallographic unit cell $V$ are found to be conveniently tuned by the $R$ ionic radius and/or external pressure. A linear correlation between $T_{_{textrm{C}}}$ and $V$ is reported and {it ab-initio} calculations unambiguously demonstrate a full equivalence of chemical and external pressures. As such, $R$ ions are shown to be influencing the ferromagnetic phase only via the induced structural shrinkage without involving any active role from the electronic $f$ degrees of freedom, which are only giving a sizeable magnetic contribution at much lower temperatures.
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