Davao del Norte

Davao del Norte Hilagang Dabaw
Province
Flag of Davao del Norte Flag Official seal of Davao del Norte Seal
{{#property:P242}} Location in the Philippines
Coordinates:
Country	[[{{#property:P17}}]]
Region	Davao (Region XI)
Founded	May 8, 1967
Capital	Tagum
Government
• Type	Province of the Philippines
• Governor	Rodolfo Del Rosario (Liberal)
• Vice Governor	Victorio Suaybaguio, Jr.(Independent)
Area
• Total	3,426.97 km2 (1,323.16 sq mi)
Area rank	39th out of 81
Population (2010)
• Total	945,764
• Rank	25th out of 81
• Density	280/km2 (710/sq mi)
• Density rank	25th out of 81
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	3
• Municipalities	8
• Barangays	223
• Districts	1st and 2nd districts of Davao del Norte
Time zone	PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP code	8100 to 8120
Dialing code	{{#property:P473}}
ISO 3166 code	{{#property:P300}}
Spoken languages	Cebuano language, Tagalog, Mansaka, Chabacano de Davao
Website	{{#property:P856}}

Davao del Norte (Filipino: Hilagang Dabaw), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Tagum City. Davao del Norte also includes Samal Island to the south in the Davao Gulf.

Before 1967, the five provinces—Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Compostela Valley—were once a single province named Davao. The Davao Region covers this historic province.

Davao del Norte is also known as "the banana capital of the Philippines."

History

Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, together with Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental 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 Oriental, and Davao del Sur 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 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.

Geography

Physical

It borders the province of Agusan del Sur to the north, Bukidnon to the west, Compostela Valley to the east, and Davao City to the south. The Leonard Kniaseff volcano is located in the province.

Administrative divisions

Davao del Norte is subdivided into 8 municipalities and 3 cities. Samal City 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.

City or Municipality District Area (km²) Population (2010) Density (per km²) No. of barangays ZIP code Income class (DOF) Coordinates Asuncion 1st 297.39 55,844 187.8 20 8102 1st Braulio E. Dujali 2nd 91.00 28,339 311.4 5 8100 4th Carmen 2nd 166.00 69,199 416.9 20 8101 1st Kapalong 1st 830.01 68,261 82.2 14 8113 1st New Corella 1st 263.12 50,699 192.7 21 8104 2nd Panabo 2nd 251.23 174,364 694 40 8105 3rd Samal 2nd 301.30 95,874 318.2 46 8119 4th San Isidro 1st 152.49 25,548 167.5 13 8100 5th Santo Tomas 2nd 221.80 109,269 492.6 19 8112 1st Tagum † 1st 195.80 242,801 1240 23 8100 1st Talaingod 1st 656.83 25,566 38.9 3 8100 2nd  †  Provincial capital and component city      Component city      Municipality Coordinates are sorted according to latitude. (Italicized coordinates mark the generic location. Otherwise, they indicate the vicinity of the city/town center). Income classifications for cities are italicized.

Demographics

Population census of Davao del Norte
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1990	590,015	—
1995	671,333	+2.45%
2000	743,811	+2.22%
2007	847,440	+1.82%
2010	945,764	+4.08%
Source: National Statistics Office

Davao del Norte has a population of 910,784 as of 2010 Census. The population density is 248 per km². Main languages spoken are Cebuano and Davawenyo. English and Filipino are also widely spoken.

Indigenous groups

Talaingod is the home of many indigenous groups in Davao del Norte. Most of them are Lumads and Aetas.

Economy

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 brackish 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. Banana Beach Resort is the most famous beach outside of Samal Island.

Commerce is also a major part of the economy of Davao del Norte. There are lot of shopping malls in Tagum City.

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 del Norte with cottages inspired by Isamal native design.
• Playa Azalea Beach Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal
• Banana Beach Resort in Tagum City
• Tagum City Hall is one of the best landmarks in Davao del Norte
• New Christ the King Cathedral in Tagum City, the seat of the Diocese of Tagum

External links

• Geographic data related to Davao del Norte at OpenStreetMap