Davao del Norte
Davao del Norte, and once known simply as
Davao, is a
province of the
Philippines located in the
Davao Region in
Mindanao. Its capital is
Tagum City. It borders the province of
Agusan del Sur to the north,
Bukidnon to the west,
Compostela Valley to the east, and the city of
Davao to the south. Davao also includes
Samal Island to the south in the
Davao Gulf. The province of Compostela Valley used to be part of Davao until it was made into an independent province in
1998. Before
1967, the four provinces—Davao,
Davao Oriental,
Davao del Sur, and
Compostela Valley—were once a single province named Davao. The
Davao Region covers this historic province.
Davao del Norte has a population of 743,811 as of the
2000 census, making it the country's 32nd most populated provnce. The population density is 215 per km². Main languages spoken are
Cebuano and
Dabaweño.
Davao del Norte is a primarily
agricultural, but also engages in
mining,
forestry, and
commercial fishing.
The principal crops of the province include
rice,
maize,
banana,
coconut,
abacá,
ramie,
coffee, and a variety of
fruit and
root crops. Davao del Norte is the country's leading producer of bananas, with many plantations run by multinationals
Dole and
Del Monte, and local producers such as
Lapanday,
TADECO, and
Marsman. Davao del Norte is also one of Mindanao's leading producer of rice.
Davao Gulf, to the south of the province, provides a living for many fishermen. Some of the fish products include brakish water
milkfish,
tilapia,
shrimp, and
crab; and freshwater
catfish and
tilapia.
Davao del Norte is a major producer of
gold, and its mining resources include
silica,
silver,
copper and elemental
sulfur. Small-scale gold mining activities thrive in several areas. There are also numerous active quarries of commercial quantities of gravel, sand, and pebbles for construction.
Tourism is also a major part of the economy of Davao del Norte. There are a lot of beaches on Samal Island, the most famous of which is
Pearl Farm Beach Resort.
Political
Davao del Norte is subdivided into 8
municipalities and 3
cities. The
Island Garden City of Samal is the only municipality or city of Davao del Norte that is not on Mindanao island. This city covers the whole of
Samal Island and
Talikud Island in the
Davao Gulf.
Cities
*
Island Garden City of Samal*
Panabo City*
Tagum CityMunicipalities
Physical
The
Leonard Kniaseff volcano is located in the province.
Pearl Farm Beach Resort. The Pearl Farm is located on
Samal Island just a short boat ride from
Davao City. The 11-hectare resort was once a real pearl farm that cultivated
oysters imported from the
Sulu Sea, and produces some of the best
pearls in the country. Now the white sand beach resort is a top tourist attraction in Davao del Norte with cottages inspired by
Isamal native design.
Davao del Norte and
Compostela Valley, together with
Davao Oriental, and
Davao del Sur used to be a whole province simply known as
Davao. This original province was split into three—Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental—when Republic Act No. 4867 (authored by Representative Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Sr.) was signed into law on
May 8,
1967 by President
Ferdinand Marcos.
Davao del Norte was originally composed of thirteen
municipalities, namely:
Asuncion, Babak (now in
Samal City),
Compostela,
Kapalong,
Mabini,
Mawab,
Monkayo,
Nabunturan,
Panabo,
Pantukan,
Samal,
Santo Tomas and
Tagum.
On
May 6,
1970, six more municipalities were created:
Carmen, Kaputian (now in Samal City),
Maco,
Montevista,
New Bataan, and
New Corella.
The passage of Republic Act No. 6430 on
June 17,
1972 changed the name of the province from
Davao del Norte to
Davao.
By 1996, Davao has a total of twenty-two municipalities with the creation of San Vicente (now
Laak) in 1979,
Maragusan in 1988, and
Talaingod in 1990.
On
January 31,
1998, President
Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8470, which split the province into two, creating the province of
Compostela Valley. In the meantime, Davao was renamed back to Davao del Norte. Together with the creation of the new province, two
cities and one
municipality were created: the municipality of Tagum, capital of Davao del Norte, was converted into a city (R.A. 8472); Samal, Babak, and Kaputian were joined into the
Island Garden City of Samal (R.A. 8471); and the municipality of
Braulio E. Dujali was created out of several
barangays in Panabo and Carmen (R.A. 8473). The province then had 8 municipalities and 2 cities.
Republic Act No. 9015, signed into law on
March 5,
2001 by President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, converted the municipality of Panabo into a city. Republic Act No. 9265, approved on March 15, 2004 created the municipality of
San Isidro from Asuncion and Kapalong.
*
Official Website of the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte*
2000 Census Report for Davao del Norte
