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.

Demographics

Davao del Norte has a population of 743,811 as of the 2000 census, making it the country's 32nd most populated province. The population density is 215 per km². Main languages spoken are Cebuano and Dabaweño.

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.

Geography

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.

City/Municipality		No. of Barangays	Area (km²)	Population (2000)	Pop. density (per km²)
	Asuncion	26	411.52
	Braulio E. Dujali	5	91.00
	Carmen	20	275.16
	Kapalong	21	1,012.87
	New Corella	21	321.48
	Panabo City	39	259.72
	Samal, Island Garden City of	46	301.30
	San Isidro
	Santo Tomas	19	320.41
	Tagum City	23	192.00	179,531
	Talaingod	3	454.96

Physical

The Leonard Kniaseff volcano is located in the province.

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.

History

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.

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte
• 2000 Census Report for Davao del Norte
• eDavao.com
• theMindanao.com

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