Compostela Valley

Not to be confused with Compostela, Compostela Valley.
Compostela Valley
Lambak ng Compostela
Province

Flag

Seal
Nickname(s):
"Province of Majestic Waterfalls"

Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°36′N 125°57′E / 7.6°N 125.95°E / 7.6; 125.95Coordinates: 7°36′N 125°57′E / 7.6°N 125.95°E / 7.6; 125.95
Country Philippines
Region Davao Region (Region XI)
Founded March 8, 1998
Capital Nabunturan
Government
  Governor Arturo T. Uy (Liberal)
  Vice Governor Manuel "Way Kurat" Zamora (Liberal)
Area[1]
  Total 4,479.77 km2 (1,729.65 sq mi)
Area rank 26th out of 81
Population (2010)[2]
  Total 687,195
  Rank 40th out of 81
  Density 150/km2 (400/sq mi)
  Density rank 53rd out of 81
Demonym(s) Comvaleño
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 8800 to 8810
Dialing code 87
ISO 3166 code PH-COM
Spoken languages Cebuano, Mansaka, Tagalog, English
Website www.ecomval.gov.ph

Compostela Valley (Cebuano: Kawalogang Kompostela; Filipino: Lambak ng Compostela) 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 Dinagat Islands, Zamboanga Sibugay 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. Its 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. On March 7 of the same year, the law was ratified through a plebiscite conducted in the twenty-two (22) municipalities of the mother province.

The movement to create a separate province from Davao del Norte started in the 1980s during the time of Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Sr., himself the author of the division of the original province of Davao into three (3) provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and Davao del Norte. Believing that the sheer size of Davao Del Norte, then the 8th largest province in the country, had greatly hindered the realization of the province’s full potentials, he filed a bill in Congress seeking to create a new province to be composed of Mawab, Maragusan, New Bataan, Nabunturan, Montevista, Monkayo, and Compostela, with the latter as the capital town. However, this was not realized until his death in the late 1980s. His son, Rogelio M. Sarmiento, who became his successor in Congress, made way 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, namely Maco, Mabini, Pantukan, and Laak 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 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.

New, as it is, Compostela Valley has achieved a distinction of sorts with the 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 provided for in the law creating the new province, "incumbent elected officials (of Davao del Norte) are given option to serve the remainder of their term in Compostela Valley," Amatong took this option and assumed the governorship of 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.

Luz M. Sarmiento, wife of the late 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 May 2007 national and local elections. Among his first acts as governor is the forging of genuine unity among political leaders and among all sectors in the province in order to have synergy in crafting the province’s development and the delivery of public services. He is now serving the province in his second term of office as governor as he ran for the post unopposed during the May 2010 national and local elections.

Geography

Administrative divisions

Compostela Valley is divided into 2 districts and is composed of 11 municipalities .

Municipality Creation District[3] Area
(km²)[3]
Population
(2010)[3][4]
Density
(per km²)
No. of
barangays
ZIP
code
Income
class
(DOF)[3]
Coordinates

Compostela Aug 1, 1948 1st 287.00 81,934 285.5 16 8803 1st 7°40′06″N 126°05′03″E / 7.6684°N 126.0841°E / 7.6684; 126.0841 (Compostela)
Laak (San Vicente) 1979 2nd 768.00 70,856 92.3 40 8810 1st 7°49′04″N 125°47′22″E / 7.8179°N 125.7895°E / 7.8179; 125.7895 (Laak)
Mabini (Doña Alicia) 1953 2nd 400.00 36,807 92 11 8807 2nd 7°18′30″N 125°51′12″E / 7.3084°N 125.8534°E / 7.3084; 125.8534 (Mabini)
Maco 17 Jun 1967 2nd 342.23 72,235 211.1 37 8806 1st 7°21′45″N 125°51′28″E / 7.3624°N 125.8579°E / 7.3624; 125.8579 (Maco)
Maragusan (San Mariano) 1988 1st 394.27 55,503 140.8 24 8808 1st 7°19′01″N 126°07′33″E / 7.3170°N 126.1257°E / 7.3170; 126.1257 (Maragusan)
Mawab 1958 2nd 136.10 35,698 262.3 11 8802 3rd 7°30′27″N 125°55′15″E / 7.5076°N 125.9207°E / 7.5076; 125.9207 (Mawab)
Monkayo Sep 14, 1954 1st 609.61 94,827 155.6 21 8805 1st 7°49′57″N 126°03′23″E / 7.8324°N 126.0565°E / 7.8324; 126.0565 (Monkayo)
Montevista Jun 18, 1966 1st 225.00 39,602 176 20 8801 3rd 7°42′11″N 125°59′18″E / 7.7030°N 125.9884°E / 7.7030; 125.9884 (Montevista)
Nabunturan Jul 23, 1957 2nd 231.30 73,196 316.5 28 8800 1st 7°36′08″N 125°58′07″E / 7.6021°N 125.9687°E / 7.6021; 125.9687 (Nabunturan)
New Bataan Jun 18, 1968 1st 553.15 47,470 85.8 16 8804 1st 7°32′54″N 126°08′16″E / 7.5483°N 126.1379°E / 7.5483; 126.1379 (New Bataan)
Pantukan Nov 13, 1936 2nd 533.11 79,067 148.3 13 8809 1st 7°07′53″N 125°53′50″E / 7.1314°N 125.8972°E / 7.1314; 125.8972 (Pantukan)
   Provincial capital
  • Coordinates mark the town center vicinity, and are sorted according to latitude.
  • Names in italics indicate former names.

Demographics

Population census of
Compostela Valley
YearPop.±% p.a.
1990 466,286    
1995 520,110+2.07%
2000 580,244+2.37%
2007 637,366+1.30%
2010 687,195+2.78%
Source: National Statistics Office[2]

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.

Arnold Bajo is the most successful defender of the poor minorities, especially the Mandayas. He died in the battle while defending the poor. According to legends, 40 days after his death, somebody reported that his spirit came 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 initially refused prior to his death as he confessed to be just a follower as well of José Rizal, the original defender of the poor.

Language

The main spoken language in the province is Cebuano. The secondary language being spoken is Filipino and English then Mansaka.

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."

Governors

Governor of Compostela Valley
Gobernador ng Lalawigan ng Compostela Valley (Tagalog)

Seal of the Province of Compostela Valley
Incumbent
Arturo T. Uy

since June 30, 2007
Style The Honorable
Residence Compostela Valley Government Center, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley
Term length 3 years and 3 terms
Inaugural holder Prospero S. Amatong
Formation March 8. 1998
Website Official Website of the Province of Compostela Valley

The Governor of Compostela Valley is the local chief executive of the Philippine province of Compostela Valley.

# Name Took office Left office Party
1 Jose Caballero June 30, 1998 June 30, 2004 LDP
June 30, 2004 June 30, 2007 Lakas
2 Arturo Uy June 30, 2007 June 30, 2010 Lakas
June 30, 2010 June 30, 2013 Lakas-Kampi
June 30, 2013 Present Liberal

See also

References

  1. "List of Provinces". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Population and Annual Growth Rates for The Philippines and Its Regions, Provinces, and Highly Urbanized Cities" (PDF). 2010 Census and Housing Population. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Province: Compostela Valley". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  4. "Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing (Davao). National Statistics Office. Retrieved 21 April 2014.

External links

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