| Compostela Valley | |||
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| — Province — | |||
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| Map of the Philippines with Compostela Valley highlighted | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Davao Region (Region XI) | ||
| Founded | January 31, 1998 | ||
| Capital | Nabunturan | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Arturo T. Uy (Nacionalista) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4,479.77 km2 (1,729.6 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 27th out of 80 | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 637,366 | ||
| • Rank | 41st out of 80 | ||
| • Density | 142.3/km2 (368.5/sq mi) | ||
| • Density rank | 51st out of 80 | ||
| Divisions | |||
| • Independent cities | 0 | ||
| • Component cities | 0 | ||
| • Municipalities | 11 | ||
| • Barangays | 237 | ||
| • Districts | 1st and 2nd districts of Compostela Valley | ||
| Time zone | PHT (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP Code | |||
| Spoken languages | Cebuano, Dabaweño | ||
Compostela Valley (Filipino: Lambak ng Compostela) is a province of 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 third newest province of the Philippines, behind Dinagat Islands and Zamboanga Sibugay. 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. Its first elected governor was lawyer Jose Caballero who used to be a lawyer for the mining group in the province.
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Majority of the inhabitants are migrants from Cebu, Samar, Bohol and other Visayan provinces. The cultural minorities in the province include the Mansaka, Mandaya, Dibabawons, Mangguangans and Aeta groups such as the Talaingod, Langilan, and Matigsalug.
Arnold Bajo, is the most successful defender of the poor minorities, especially the Mandaya. He died in the battle while defending the poor. According to the legend, 40 days after his death, somebody reported that his spirit come from his body and infused in the statue of Ara-araba, their god of harvest. From then on, people worship him as god in the Mandaya tribe, which he refused as he confessed as follower of Rizal, the original defender of poor.
The main source of livelihood of this province 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, milkfish and a lot more. The province is also rich with gold ore.
Many people speak Spanish-based creole called kinatsila, a term derived from the Kingdom of Castile in Spain. Tourists who have been there even called the province as the "Lost Spain" because a substantial minority look Spanish as they are Mestizos. During the Spanish occupation many Spanish settled in the area and established communities which eventually become large towns.
Compostela Valley is subdivided into 11 municipalities.
The province was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 8470, enacted on January 31, 1998 and ratified on March 7 of the same year by Terisita Zamora
| Agusan del Sur | ||||
| Davao del Norte | Davao Oriental | |||
| Compostela Valley | ||||
| Davao Gulf |
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