Davao de Oro Compostela Valley | |
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.jpg)  (from top: left to right)Nabunturan Poblacion andMontevista Sports Complex. | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Etymology:Davao de Oro (lit., "Golden Davao") | |
| Nickname: Golden Capital of the Philippines | |
 Map of Davao Region with Davao de Oro highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Davao de Oro | |
| Coordinates:7°36′N125°57′E / 7.6°N 125.95°E /7.6; 125.95 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Davao Region |
| Founded | March 7, 1998 |
| Renamed | December 7, 2019 |
| Capital | Nabunturan |
| Largest Municipality | Monkayo |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Raul G. Mabanglo (Lakas-CMD) |
| • Vice Governor | Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga (PFP) |
| • Legislature | Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Davao de Oro |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,560.09 km2 (1,760.66 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 26th out of 82 |
| Highest elevation | 2,670 m (8,760 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[2] | |
• Total | 783,775 |
| • Rank | 40th out of 82 |
| • Density | 171.877/km2 (445.160/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 53rd out of 82 |
| Demonym(s) | Orocanon, Oroqueño |
| Divisions | |
| • Independent cities | 0 |
| • Component cities | 0 |
| • Municipalities | |
| • Barangays | 237 |
| • Districts | Legislative districts of Davao de Oro |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)87 |
| ISO 3166 code | PH-COM |
| Spoken languages | |
| Income classification | 1st class |
| Website | www |
Davao de Oro, officially theProvince of Davao de Oro (Cebuano:Lalawigan sa Davao de Oro;Filipino:Lalawigan ng Davao de Oro), is aprovince in thePhilippines located in theDavao Region inMindanao. Its capital isNabunturan whileMonkayo is the most populous. It used to be part of the province ofDavao del Norte until it was made a separate province in 1998.
The province borders Davao del Norte to the west,Agusan del Sur to the north, andDavao Oriental to the east. To the southwest lies theDavao Gulf. The first elected governor was Jose Caballero, formerly a lawyer for a mining group in the province. It was formerly known asCompostela Valley (shortened toComVal;Cebuano:Kawalogang Kompostela) from its inception until December 2019, whena plebiscite ratified the law that proposed to rename the province to Davao de Oro.[3]
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Spain 1521–1898
United States of America 1898–1942
Japan 1942–1945
Philippines 1946–present
Davao de Oro, the 78th province in the country, was created out of Davao del Norte Province by virtue ofRepublic Act No. 8470, signed by PresidentFidel V. Ramos on January 30, 1998. The new province was officially named Compostela Valley.[4] On March 7 of the same year, the law was ratified through aplebiscite conducted in the eleven (11) municipalities of the mother province.
The movement to create a new province by dividing Davao del Norte started in the 1980s during the time of Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr., himself the author ofRA No. 6430. However, this was not realized until his death in the late 1980s. His son, Rogelio M. Sarmiento, who became his successor in Congress, pushed for the passage of the bill creating the province.
Upon consultation with the governor of Davao del Norte,Prospero S. Amatong, the province's other two legislators, 3rd District Congressman Rodolfo P. Del Rosario and 2nd District Congressman Baltazar A. Sator, and other provincial and municipal officials, it was decided that the addition of four municipalities, namelyMaco,Mabini,Pantukan, andLaak to the proposed province would be the most ideal and equitable configuration as this would make both provinces on an almost equal footing in terms of area, population, and development opportunities. It was also decided that Nabunturan would be the capital town because of its more central location.
The name originally proposed for the province wasDavao del Norte, the former name, or so it was thought, of the mother province. However, theHouse of Representatives’ Reference and Research Bureau, which conducted the research and legal work on the creation of the province, found out that the mother province continues to be officially referred to asDavao del Norte in most official documents including the1987 Philippine Constitution despite the passage ofRA No. 6430 on June 17, 1972, renaming it asDavao Province. Tedious technical and legal issues needed to be resolved before the name could be adopted. The proposal was thus shelved and the name finally agreed upon wasCompostela Valley, referring to the great fertile plain in the heartland of the province.
The origin of the province's inhabitants came from the ethnic tribes of theMansaka,Mandaya,Manobo, Mangguangan, Dibabawon,Aeta,Kamayo,Davaweño andKalagan. Similar to the history of other Mindanao provinces, most of the present populations of the province are descendants of migrants who came from Luzon and Visayas islands during the pre-war and post war eras, among the Luzon migrants wereTagalogs fromBataan (thus, the townNew Bataan) &Ilocanos from North Central Luzon. The bigger wave of immigrants came during the time of PresidentRamon Magsaysay wherein the policy of attraction adopted by the national government was to offer parcels of land to tenant-farmers. Although a virtual melting pot, theVisayans (mostlyCebuano-speaking) are the dominant group in Davao de Oro.
Upon its establishment, Davao de Oro was ruled by a succession of three governors during the first four months of its existence. The first governor of the province was Prospero S. Amatong, the three-term governor (1986–1998) of the then undivided province of Davao del Norte, who held the position only for a day. As the law creating the new province allowed incumbent elected officials of Davao del Norte the option to serve the remainder of their term in Compostela Valley, Amatong took this option and assumed the governorship of the then-Compostela Valley on March 26, 1998. The following day, he resigned and filed his candidacy for the congressional seat of the 2nd district of the new province. The governorship was turned over to Luz M. Sarmiento, by virtue of a presidential appointment. Sarmiento, the wife of then Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. served the province from March 27, 1998, to June 30, 1998. She was succeeded by Jose R. Caballero.
Jose R. Caballero, a practicing lawyer and former vice governor of then undivided Davao del Norte (1988–1992) was the first elected governor of Compostela Valley.
Arturo T. "Chiongkee" Uy is the fourth governor of Compostela Valley. He first served the province as member of the 3rd Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Compostela Valley (2004–2007) before he was elected as governor in the May 2007 national and local elections. He was reelected unopposed during the May 2010 national and local elections.
In 1955, the barrio (barangay) of New Sabonga was transferred to the municipality ofCompostela from the municipality ofAsuncion.[5]
On June 23, 1957, then PresidentCarlos P. Garcia signed Republic Act No. 2038[6] which separated Compostela from Nabunturan. The first Mayor appointed by President Carlos P. Garcia was then Mayor Pio P. Galenzoga, one of the pioneer settlers.
In the same year the sitios of Kao, Magkagong, Margosan, Matilo, Magangit, Cabacungan, Tigbatinao and Camanlangan were constituted into a barrio known as Santo Niño.[7]
At the time, Compostela was an incongruous mixture of wooden-roofed houses concentrated along theAgusan River which was properly known as "dungguanan" (embarkation). This area later became its center of trade and commerce orPoblacion.
A Senate bill officially renaming Compostela Valley toDavao de Oro was passed in 2019. Provincial officials led by Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy justified the renaming as part of an clear up confusion with its geographic location, with the province's name sometimes associated withCagayan Valley and the town ofCompostela in Cebu, and associate it further with fellow provinces in theDavao Region.[3] The plebiscite was held on December 7, 2019, with the majority of participants voting in favor of the name change.
Davao de Oro covers a total area of 4,479.77 square kilometres (1,729.65 sq mi)[8] occupying the northeastern section of theDavao Region. The province bordersDavao del Norte to the west,Agusan del Sur to the north, andDavao Oriental to the east. To the southwest liesDavao Gulf.
Davao de Oro is divided into 2districts comprising 11municipalities.
† Provincial capital
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 13,060 | — |
| 1939 | 21,048 | +2.30% |
| 1948 | 26,883 | +2.76% |
| 1960 | 102,830 | +11.83% |
| 1970 | 184,831 | +6.03% |
| 1975 | 235,293 | +4.96% |
| 1980 | 319,490 | +6.31% |
| 1990 | 466,286 | +3.85% |
| 1995 | 520,110 | +2.07% |
| 2000 | 580,244 | +2.37% |
| 2007 | 637,366 | +1.30% |
| 2010 | 687,195 | +2.78% |
| 2015 | 736,107 | +1.32% |
| 2020 | 767,547 | +0.88% |
| 2024 | 783,775 | +0.50% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][10] | ||
The population of Davao de Oro in the 2020 census was 767,547 people,[2] with a density of 170 inhabitants per square kilometre or 440 inhabitants per square mile.
The majority of the inhabitants are migrants from Cebu, Samar, Bohol and other Visayan provinces. The cultural minorities in the province include theKalagan,Mansaka,Mandaya, Dibabawon, Mangguangan andManobo groups such as the Atta, Talaingod, Langilan, and Matigsalug Manobo.
Arnold Bajo is the most successful defender of the poor minorities, especially theMandayas. He died in a battle while defending the poor. According to legends, 40 days after his death, his bodily spirit was infused into the statue of Ara-Araba, the local tribe's god of harvest. From then on, he was worshipped as a god by the members of the Mandaya tribe.
The primary language spoken in the province isCebuano. Secondary languages includeKalagan,Mansaka,Mandaya,Ata Manobo, Dibabawnon, Tagalog, andEnglish.
Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion of this province forming 74% of the province population.[11]
Other significant religious minorities include Protestants which form 15% of the province population[12] andIglesia ni Cristo which form 2% of the province population.[13] Other religions are divided betweenSunni Islam andAnimism.
Davao de Oro was billed as the second richest province in the Philippines by the Commission on Audit by year 2017.[22] That year, its provincial government posted a record high of ₱18.75 billion worth of assets, the largest in whole Mindanao.[23] As of 2019, with an increase to ₱20.099 billion worth of assets, it remains the richest province in Mindanao.[24] The economic drive which brought the province to this status was caused by numerous business establishments, banana plantations, and vast gold and silver mines across the province, further augmented with its up-to-date transportation infrastructure.
The province possesses one of the largestgold deposits in the Philippines, with 10 out of its 11 towns having one or more gold mines,[25] the largest of which is at Mt. Diwalwal in the town ofMonkayo. The town ofNabunturan, the provincial capital, is also home to the biggest gold ring in the Philippines, "The Solidarity Ring."
The main sources of livelihood in the province are agricultural products such as rice, coconut, cacao, coffee, papaya, mango, pineapple, durian and banana. Some residents in the province have fishponds and culture their own fish liketilapia andmilkfish.
Davao de Oro is headed by itsgovernor as the chief executive. The vice governor is the presiding officer of theSangguniang Panlalawigan ng Davao de Oro, the province's legislature. Each municipality elects its own mayor, and a vice mayor presiding itsSangguniang Bayan.
The province is represented by two representatives in theHouse of Representatives of the Philippines, each coming from acongressional district.
The province'sRegional Trial Court meets inNabunturan. It has one branch under the Eleventh Judicial Region.
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Media related toDavao de Oro at Wikimedia Commons
Geographic data related toDavao de Oro atOpenStreetMapPlaces adjacent to Davao de Oro | |
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