Davao, formerly Davao del Norte, is a province of the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Tagum City and 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.

The province is usually called Davao del Norte, which is the old name, or Davao province, to distinguish it from Davao City which is what most people mean when they say Davao. 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.

People and Culture

Economy

Davao is a primarily agricultural, but also engages in mining, forestry, and commercial fishing.

The principal crops of the province include rice, corn, banana, coconut, abaca, ramie, coffee, and a variety of fruit and root crops. Davao 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 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 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 economy of Davao. There are a lot of beaches on Samal Island, the most famous of which is Pearl Farm Beach Resort . See the section below on tourist attractions.

Geography

Political

Davao is subdivided into 8 municipalities and 3 cities. The Island Garden City of Samal is the only municipality or city of Davao 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 City

Municipalities

Physical

Tourist Attractions

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 with cottages inspired by Isamal native design.

History

Davao 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. Together with the creation of the new province, two cities and one municipality were created: the municipality of Tagum, capital of Davao, 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.

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Davao
  http://www.davaonorte.gov.ph
• 2000 Census Report for Davao
  http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/pr0295tx.html