Davao del Norte

BRIEF HISTORY

Davao del Norte was originally a part of what was then collectively known as the province of Davao. On May 8, 1967, the late Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Sr. authored a bill, which was later passed into law – RA 4867 – that divided Davao into three provinces, namely, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental. On June 17, 1972, the name Davao del Norte was changed to Davao under RA 6430. All three provinces celebrate their anniversary every 1st of July.

When it was created, Davao del Norte was made up of 13 municipalities: Asuncion, Babak, Compostela, Kapalong, Mabini, Mawab, Monkayo, Nabunturan, Panabo, Pantukan, Samal, Sto. Tomas, and Tagum. On May 6, 1970, six additional municipalities were created, and these were Carmen, Kaputian, Maco, Montevista, New Bataan, and New Corella. By 1996, the province had a total of 22 municipalities, with the creation of Laak in 1979, Maragusan in 1988, and Talaingod in 1990.

On January 30, 1998, Former President Fidel V. Ramos signed RA 8470 creating the province of Compostela Valley out of Davao province. This paved the way for the conversion of the municipality of Tagum into a city (RA 8472), the merging of the three island municipalities of Babak, Samal, and Kaputian to form the Island Garden City of Samal (RA 8471), and the creation of the municipality of B.E. Dujali (RA 8473). With the creation of Compostela Valley, the province of Davao reverted back to its old name of Davao del Norte and at present has seven municipalities and three cities.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Davao del Norte is strategically located at the
southeastern part of Region XI, bounded
by Agusan del Sur on the North,
Bukidnonon the Northeast,
Davao City on the
West, Davao Gulf
on the South
and the
Province of
Compostela
Valley on
the
East.

LAND AREA

Davao del Norte occupies a total land area of 3,463 square kilometers. This represents 18 percent of the total land area of  Region XI (Davao Region).

POPULATION

As of May 1, 2000, the population of Davao del Norte stands at 743,811. Among the cities/municipalities Tagum City (capital) has the largest population at 179,531 or 24.1 percent share to the total population of the province.

PEOPLE

The majority of the population descended from Visayan migrants. As a result, Cebuano is the most widely spoken language.

Other prominent migrant groups are the Ilonggos.

Among the indigenous ethnic groups in the province are the Mandaya, Mansaka, and Ata-Talaingod.

QUICK FACTS