Metro Davao Kaulohang Dabaw (Cebuano) | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan Davao | |
 Skyline of Davao City | |
 Interactive map of Metro Davao | |
| Coordinates:7°04′N125°36′E / 7.07°N 125.6°E /7.07; 125.6 | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Region | Davao Region (Region XI) |
| Province(s) | |
| Managing entity | Metropolitan Davao Development Authority[1] |
| Established | 1995(as metropolitan area)[2] 2022(as administrative area)[3] |
| Cities andMunicipalities | 15 |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,492.84 km2 (2,506.90 sq mi) |
| Population (2020)[4] | |
• Total | 3,339,284 |
| • Density | 514.303/km2 (1,332.04/sq mi) |
| Divisions | |
| • Highly urbanized cities | |
| • Component cities | |
| • Municipalities | |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
Metro Davao, officiallyMetropolitan Davao (Cebuano:Kaulohang Dabaw;Filipino:Kalakhang Davao), is ametropolitan area inMindanao,Philippines. It includes the cities ofDavao,Digos,Panabo,Samal andTagum and spans parts of all five provinces of theDavao Region. Metro Davao is one ofthree metropolitan areas in the Philippines.[5] It is administered by the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority.[1] It is the largest metropolitan region by land area and the second most populous in the Philippines.
The agglomeration of Metro Davao has no formal legal framework early on its initial stage of development process either by an act ofCongress, by an executive declaration of thepresident or by a formal agreement among component cities and municipalities of the metropolitan area.
In the case of Metro Manila, the component cities and municipalities were grouped into a province through a decree issued by then-PresidentFerdinand Marcos, and designated the then First LadyImelda Marcos as a governess. From then on, Greater Manila, as it was known earlier, became Metro Manila.
To formalize its juridical identity, Congress passed into law Republic Act No. 7924, instituting theMetropolitan Manila Development Authority. Under the current law, the head of the agency shall be appointed by the President and should not be on a concurrent elected position as mayor.
Metro Cebu is a concept created in the 70's and formally adopted by the Regional Development Council ofCentral Visayas as a platform for integrating parallel development in the metropolitan area.
Although Metro Davao was formed in 1995 by then-mayor of Davao City (and later president)Rodrigo Duterte, it does not have the birth perspective of either Metro Cebu or Metro Manila. The metropolitan concept of Metro Davao is being spearheaded by the mayor but no formal agreement or an act of congress have been executed to formalize its legal and juridical identity. Because of this, the region, having no official legal framework (although they have ade facto one, the Davao Regional Development Council), exists not as a juridical identity but only as an informal reference to the area. However, the said council have formally adopted the concept in 1996 for the development of the area, especially Davao City.
Twenty-seven years later, as president, Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11708 on April 27, 2022, paving the way for the establishment of the Metro Davao Development Authority which would oversee the administration and planning in the metropolitan area.[1]
| Metropolitan Davao Development Authority | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MDDA |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | April 13, 2022 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Philippines |
| Legal jurisdiction | Metro Davao |
| Governing body | Metropolitan Davao Development Council |
Prior to the creation of the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority in 2022, Metro Davao had its three own development and governance councils, namely:Davao Integrated Development Program Board, Metropolitan Davao Committee, and Metropolitan Davao Management Office. Davao Integrated Development Program Board served as the metropolitan area's development council, since Metro Davao not only defines the LGUs in the said metropolitan area, but also all of Davao Region.[6] As such, it was not an administrative political unit but an agglomeration of independent local government units, the third level government in the Philippine political system. With Republic Act No. 11708 signed into effect in 2022 however, the then newly created Metropolitan Davao Development Authority will replace the provisional entities that are overseeing the affairs of the metropolis, thus effectively turning Metro Davao into an administrative political unit in the same level asMetro Manila.[3] It is considered to be a special development and administrative region.[7]
As the years passed, the definitions of Metro Davao have changed in recent years.[8] The following are the three identical geographical definitions:[6]
| Local government unit[1] | Population (2020)[4] | Area (km2)[11][12] | Pop. density (perkm2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davao City | 1,776,949 | 2,443.61 | 727.2 |
| Digos | 188,376 | 287.10 | 250.7 |
| Panabo | 209,230 | 251.23 | 734.8 |
| Samal | 116,771 | 301.30 | 387.6 |
| Tagum | 296,202 | 195.80 | 1,330.5 |
| Carmen | 82,018 | 166.00 | 449.9 |
| Hagonoy | 56,919 | 114.28 | 498.1 |
| Maco | 83,237 | 342.23 | 284.4 |
| Malalag | 40,158 | 186.12 | 215.8 |
| Malita | 118,197 | 883.37 | 133.8 |
| Padada | 29,878 | 83.00 | 360.0 |
| Santa Cruz | 101,125 | 319.91 | 284.4 |
| Santa Maria | 57,526 | 175.00 | 328.7 |
| Sulop | 35,151 | 155.26 | 226.4 |
| Total | 3,339,284 | 6,492.84 | 622.6 |
The metropolitan area has 6,492.84 km2, making it the largest metropolitan area in the Philippines in terms of land area. It also has a population of 3,339,284 in the combined population sizes of the local government units that make up the metropolitan area during the 2020 census,[13] making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the country afterMetro Manila andMetro Cebu and the most populous in the entireMindanao region.
Most of the region's inhabitants, originally mostly descended from migrant settlers fromVisayas andLuzon in recent centuries and decades, mostly speakDavaoeño Cebuano Bisayavernacularly, whereasEnglish is the primaryformalmedium of instruction in schools, besidesFilipino (Tagalog) class, and is widely understood by residents, who often use it in varying professional fields. Aside fromDavaoeño Cebuano Bisaya,Tagalog,Hiligaynon, andChavacano Davaoeño are also widely casually used in Metro Davao in addition to languages indigenous to Davao City, such asGiangan,Kalagan,Tagabawa,Matigsalug,Ata Manobo, andObo. Other languages also varyingly spoken in the main city includeMaguindanao,Maranao,Sama-Bajau,Iranun,Tausug,Kapampangan andIlocano. AmongChinese Filipinos andJapanese Filipinos in Davao,Philippine Hokkien andJapanese can also be heard privately used among their fellows.Mandarin (Standard Chinese) andJapanese is also taught in Chinese class and Japanese class ofChinese FIlipino schools andJapanese Nikkei schools respectively.
A linguistic phenomenon has developed in Metro Davao whereby some Cebuano-speaking locals have started integratingTagalog-based lexicon to their everyday conversations. Numerous factors are behind this, such as the normalcy older generations to speak Tagalog towards their children in the household, the presence of migrant settlers and visitors from various areas in the country, particularly fromLuzon, and the mass media and education where people learn Tagalog-based terms, phrases, words, and grammar. WhileCebuano language is still primarily spoken in the metro, due to these factors, Tagalog is considered a secondary casuallingua franca.
The economy of Metro Davao is one of the largest in the country and the most economically active in Mindanao.Davao City, from which the metropolitan area is centered, is known as theCrown Jewel of Mindanao due to its status as the premier city, the financial and trade center, and the overall hub of Mindanao.
There are several industrial and business establishments within the metropolitan area as well. Industrial plants in Davao City, Santa Cruz, and Digos generate income for their respective LGUs as well as for the locals living there. Banana plantations in the northern part of the metropolitan area also contribute to the metropolitan, as well as the national, economy. Local fruits such as durians, mangoes, pineapples, and mangosteens are also exported abroad.
| City/Municipality | Annual Income as of 2022 (₱)[14] | Income Classification as of 2010[15] |
|---|---|---|
| Davao City | 17,169,476,000.00 | 1st income class highly urbanized city |
| Tagum | 2,262,919,000.00 | 1st income class component city |
| Panabo | 1,818,050,000.00 | 3rd income class component city |
| Digos | 1,551,233,000.00 | 2nd income class component city |
| Samal | 1,396,221,000.00 | 4th income class component city |
| Malita | 799,090,000.00 | 1st income class municipality |
| Santa Cruz | 628,185,000.00 | 1st income class municipality |
| Maco | 553,069,000.00 | 1st income class municipality |
| Carmen | 441,376,000.00 | 1st income class municipality |
| Santa Maria | 299,732,000.00 | 2nd income class municipality |
| Sulop | 292,970,000.00 | 3rd income class municipality |
| Malalag | 274,793,000.00 | 2nd income class municipality |
| Hagonoy | 261,196,000.00 | 3rd income class municipality |
| Padada | 191,914,000.00 | 3rd income class municipality |
| Total | 29,743,516,000.00 |
Davao City is one of the country's leading producers and exporters ofdurian,mangoes,pomeloes,banana,coconut products,papaya,mangosteen, and even flowers.Panabo hosts one of the country's biggest banana plantations, which is owned by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (TADECO) that covers around 6,900 hectares of banana fields.Digos is popular for themangoes produced in the city.
Metro Davao, as a whole, is being served byDavao City'sFrancisco Bangoy International Airport. It is the largest and the most developed airport on the island of Mindanao. It comes second for having the longest runway on the island at 3,000 meters after that ofGeneral Santos International Airport. The airport is currently the third busiest airport in the country afterNinoy Aquino International Airport andMactan–Cebu International Airport, and the busiest in Mindanao. This international facility is one of the domestic hubs ofPhilippines AirAsia,Cebu Pacific Air, andPhilippine Airlines. Presently, the airport serves flights toManila,Cebu,Iloilo,Cagayan de Oro,Zamboanga,Pampanga,Bacolod,Tagbilaran,Tacloban,Puerto Princesa,Caticlan and as far asSingapore,Hong Kong,Quanzhou (suspended), andDoha. In 2006, airport officials described the new Air Traffic Control tower as the most advanced in the Philippines at the time, surpassing the facilities at NAIA.[16]
Three of the four main seaports in the region operate in Metro Davao, namely: Sasa International Seaport in Sasa and Santa Ana Pier in the Chinatown District, both in Davao City; and Panabo Seaport inDavao del Norte. The former two, both of which are located in Port of Davao in Davao City, can service both interisland and international shipments. Sasa International Container Port, also located in theDavao International Seaport, is one of the busiest in the entireVisayas-Mindanao region.
Metro Davao is served by thePan-Philippine Highway as well as provincial roads connecting nearby provinces outside of Davao Region. The cities of Davao and Tagum are the metropolitan area's major land transportation hubs. All cities and towns in the metropolitan area have overland transport terminals connecting the area to other parts of Mindanao and the Philippines via buses andpassenger vans.
TheMindanao Railway will have its first segment on the Tagum–Davao–Digos line, and its construction is targeted to begin in 2023.[17]
The cities of Davao and Panabo and the town of Carmen has their electricity needs served byDavao Light and Power Company, a distribution utilities subsidiary ofAboitiz Power which also operates the 300-megawatt Therma South Coal-Fired Power Plant located in Brgy. Binugao, Davao City.[18] The cities of Samal and Tagum and the town of Maco are served byNorthern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO), the city of Digos and the towns of Hagonoy, Malalag, Padada, Sulop, Sta. Cruz, and Sta. Maria and Malita by Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (DASURECO).
Metro Davao currently does not have a unified sewage and sewerage system as to the fact that it is rather disconnected in terms of urban contiguity. As such, every city and town in the metropole has their own drainage system.
Davao City has its own water service via Davao City Water District. Other towns and cities within Metro Davao are served by their own water utility service providers.
The sanitary landfill at Barangay Carmen, Davao City are shared by both Davao and Panabo. The city of Tagum and the town of Carmen also had their own landfill located at Brgy. Nueva Fuerza, Tagum City.
Metro Davao has a number of educational institutions catering to the needs of its residents. These colleges and universities are mostly found in Davao City. There are also a number of international schools that serve the metro. Here are some notable institutions in Metro Davao.
Public
Private
Davao City, having over a million night-time population and an estimated 4 million day-time population is home to many media outlets and Large media networks, maintain their respective local stations and branches for viewership, commercial and news coverage purposes. Most of these stations broadcast local news and public affairs as well as entertainment and dramas to cater to the local viewers.
There is one regional newscast in Metro Davao likeOne Mindanao that aired onGMA 5 Davao, simulcast on all GMA stations in Mindanao including semi-satellite stations in Cagayan de Oro and General Santos.
Aside from the 24 national dailynewspapers available, Davao City also has 21 local newspapers. Among the widely read areSunStar Davao, theMindanao Times and theMindanao Examiner.
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