This is a history of Davao de Oro

1. History of DAVAO DE ORO
Davao de Oro, previously named Compostela Valley, 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, to become the 78th
province of the Philippines. On March 7 of the same year, the law was ratified through a plebiscite
conducted in the twenty-two municipalities of the mother province.
Initiatives to create a separate province from Davao del Norte started in the 80s during the time of
Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Sr., the author of the division of the original province of Davao into
three provinces, namely 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 80s. 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 then incumbent governor of Davao Del Norte, Prospero S. Amatong, the
province’s other two legislators, namely Congressman Rodolfo P. Del Rosario of the third district and
Congressman Baltazar A. Sator of the 2nd district; and the 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 ideal and equitable configuration as this would make both provinces on 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 various 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, majority of the present inhabitants of the province are descendants of migrants 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.
FIRST GOVERNOR IN DAVAO DE ORO

2. 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.
WHEN DID DAVAO DE ORO START?
The Province of Davao de Oro, then Compostela Valley, was created by virtue of RA 8470. The law was
signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos on January 30, 1998 but it was officially established as a Province
on March 8, 1998, a day after the plebiscite that ratified the division of Davao del Norte into two provinces.
Who was the appointed governor of compostela valley on march 27 1998 to june 30 1998?
Amatong was the first Governor of Compostela Valley, who held the position only for a day on 25 March
1998 as he filed his certificate of candidacy for the congressional seat in the 2nd District of the new
province. He was succeeded by Luz M. Sarmiento, who was appointed governor from March 27, 1998 to
June 30, 1998.
FIRST DISTRICT OF DAVAO DE ORO
It currently comprises the municipalities of Compostela, Maragusan, Monkayo, Montevista and New
Bataan. It is currently represented in the 19th Congress by Maricar Zamora of the Lakas–CMD.
SECOND DISTRICT OF DAVAO DE ORO
The district encompasses two noncontiguous areas of Davao de Oro: Laak in the Davao–Agusan Trough
and the valley and coastal municipalities adjoining the provincial capital of Nabunturan, namely Mabini,
Maco, Mawab and Pantukan. Much of these areas were previously within Davao del Norte's 2nd district.
How many districts are there in Davao de Oro?
There are 11 municipalities comprising the province, which are grouped into two (2) legislative districts.
District 1 is composed of Compostela, Maragusan, Monkayo, Montevista, and New Bataan. District 2
includes Laak, Mabini, Maco, Mawab, Nabunturan, and Pantukan. The province has also 237 total
barangays.