Davao del Norte
Davao del Norte (; ) is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Samal Island to the south in the Davao Gulf. Before 1967, the five provinces—Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental—were administered as a single province named Davao. The present-day 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 Davao de Oro, 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. Davao del Norte originally comprised thirteen municipalities: Asuncion, Babak (now in Samal), 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), 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 had a total of twenty-two municipalities with the creation of San Vicente (now Laak) in 1979, Maragusan in 1988, and Talaingod in 1991. On January 31, 1998, President Fidel V. Ramos signed "Republic Act No. 8470", which split the province into two, creating the province of Davao de Oro (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 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. Geography. Davao del Norte covers a total area of occupying the north-central section of the Davao Region. The province borders Agusan del Sur to the north, Bukidnon to the west, Davao de Oro to the east, and Davao City to the south. Samal 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. Administrative divisions. Davao del Norte comprises eight municipalities and three cities. Demographics. Davao del Norte had a population of in the  . The population density was . The main languages spoken are Cebuano and Davawenyo. English and Filipino are also widely spoken. Indigenous groups. Talaingod is the home of many indigenous groups in Davao del Norte, with most of them Lumads and Aetas. 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.