DAVAO REGION

Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao (Cebuano: Habagatang Mindanao; Filipino: Timog
Mindanao), is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI.[2] It is situated at the
southeastern portion of Mindanao, comprising five provinces:
1. Compostela Valley,
2. Davao del Norte,
3. Davao del Sur,
4. Davao Oriental and
5. Davao Occidental, the newly created province .
The region encloses the Davao Gulf, and its regional center is Davao City. Dávao is the Hispanicized
pronunciation of daba-daba , the Bagobo word for "fire" (the Cebuano translation is kalayo ).

Many historians believe that the name Davao is the mixture of the three names that three different tribes,
the earliest settlers in the region, had for the Davao River. The Manobos, an aboriginal tribe, referred to the
Davao Rivers as Davohoho. Another tribe, the Bagobos, referred to the river as Davohaha, which means
"fire", while another tribe, the Guiangan tribe, called the river as Duhwow.
The Provinces:

1. Compostela Valley
(Cebuano: Kawalogang Kompostela), or Davao de Oro , is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao
Region in Mindanao. The province, called Comval for short, used to be part of Davao del Norte until it was made
independent in 1998.
It is the fourth newest province of the Philippines, behind Zamboanga Sibugay, Dinagat Islands, and Davao Occidental. Its
capital is Nabunturan. The province borders Davao del Norte to the west, Agusan del Sur to the north, and Davao
Oriental to the east. To the southwest lies the Davao Gulf. The first elected governor was Jose Caballero, formerly a lawyer
for a mining group in the province.
History
Compostela Valley, the 78th province in the country, was carved out of Davao del Norte Province by virtue of Republic
Act No. 8470, signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on January 30, 1998.[3] On March 7 of the same year, the law was
ratified through a plebisciteconducted in the twenty-two (22) municipalities of the mother province.
The name originally proposed for the province was Davao del Norte, the former name, or so it was thought, of the mother
province. However, the House 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 as Davao
del Norte in most official documents including the 1987 Philippine Constitution despite the passage of RA No. 6430 on
June 17, 1972 renaming it as Davao 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 was Compostela 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
the Mansaka, Mandaya, Manobo, Mangguangan, Dibabawon, Aeta, Kamayo, Davaweño and Kalagan. 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. The bigger wave of immigrants came during
the time of President Ramon 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, the Visayans (mostly Cebuano-speaking) are the
dominant group in Compostela Valley.
Geography
Compostela Valley covers a total area of 4,479.77 square kilometres (1,729.65 sq mi)[4] occupying the northeastern section
of the Davao Region. The province borders Davao del Norte to the west, Agusan del Sur to the north, and Davao
Oriental to the east. To the southwest lies the Davao Gulf.
Administrative
Compostela Valley is divided into 2 districts comprising 11 municipalities.
Demographics
The population of Compostela Valley in the 2015 census was 736,107 people, [2] with a density of 160 inhabitants per
square kilometre or 410 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 the Mansaka, Mandaya, Dibabawon, Mangguangan and Manobo groups such as the Atta,
Talaingod, Langilan, and Matigsalug Manobo.
Language
The primary language spoken in the province is Cebuano. Secondary languages include Filipino, English and Mansaka.
Religion
Roman Catholic is the predominate religion of this province forming 74% of the province population. [6] Other significant
religious minorities include Protestants which form 15% of the province population [7] and Iglesia Ni Cristo which form 2% of
the province population.[8] Other religions are divided between animist and Islam
Economy
The main sources of livelihood are agricultural products such as rice, coconut, cacao, coffee, papaya, mango, pineapple,
durian and banana. It has been projected that by 2030, the province will be one of the richest provinces in the country
because of its rich natural resources and hardworking people. Some residents have fishponds and culture their own fish
like tilapia and milkfish. The province is also rich with gold ore. Nabunturan, the provincial capital, is home to the biggest
gold ring in the Philippines, "The Solidarity Ring."

2. Davao del Norte

(Cebuano: Amihanang 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 administered as a single province named Davao. The Davao Region is coterminous with this former
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.
Geography
Davao del Norte covers a total area of 3,426.97 square kilometres (1,323.16 sq mi)[15] occupying the north-central section
of the Davao Region. The province borders Agusan del Sur to the north, Bukidnon to the west, Compostela Valley to the
east, and Davao City to the south.
Samal City is the only municipality or city in the province not situated on Mindanao island. The city covers the entire Samal
and Talikud Islands within the Davao Gulf.
The Leonard Kniaseff volcano is located within the province.
Admnistrative
Davao del Norte comprises 8 municipalities and 3 cities: Panabo, Samal, and Tagum.
Demography
Davao del Norte had a population of 1,016,332 in the 2015 census. [2] The population density was 297/km2 (768/sq mi).
Main languages spoken are Cebuano and Davawenyo. English and Filipino are also widely spoken.
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.