History

Davao Oriental was once the homeland of a fierce maritime people called the Caragans who raided the islands of the Visayas before they were eventually subdued by force of Spanish arms. In 1609, following the establishment of Spanish forts in Tandag and Bislig, the entire northeastern coast, from Surigao to Cape San Agustin, was placed under jurisdiction of a province called Caraga.

For much of the Spanish regime, Mandaya and Mansaka communities existed in the forested interior but the coast was sparsely inhabited. The continuous Moro raids reduced the Christianized population of the province and only small irregular missions were sent further south of the town of Caraga.

In 1846, Jose Oyanguren led an expedition south of Bislig and organized the towns of Mati, Banganga and Sigaboy. Three years later, Governor Narciso Claveria permitted the establishment of a new province called Nueva Guipuzcoa to cover the new Spanish conquests in the Davao Gulf. Part of old Caraga province, a strip of land covering the towns of Tandag, Tago, Lianga, Mision de San Juan, Bilsig, Jinatuan, Cateel, Quinablangan, Dapa and Banganga, was ceded to Nueva Guipuzcoa. In 1858, the province of Nueva Guipuzcoa was abolished and replaced by two comandancias called Bislig and Davao. Both comandancias were later incorporated into the district of Davao. By the end of the Spanish regime, the region of Davao Oriental was a politico-military comandancia called Mati dependent on Davao. Davao became a district of the Moro Province in 1903 and in September 1914, it became a regular province under the Department of Mindanao and Sulu.

Migration by Visayan settlers during the American period drastically altered the population profile of the province. Increased immigration from the north pushed the cultural communities of Mandayas and Caragans further into the hinterlands. On July 1, 1967, the old Davao province was divided into three provinces under Republic Act No. 4867 and Davao Oriental was born.

People, Arts and Culture

The principal population is composed of Visayan migrants, although there are also cultural communities living here like the Mandayas and Manobos. Cebuano, Ilonggo and Pilipino are the predominant languages of trade, instruction and communication although the indigenous languages are also widely spoken.

The Mandayas are the indigenous people of Davao Oriental. They are known for their distinctive dress and ornamentation. They are also famous for their woven cloth of abaca fiber colored with bark and earthy dyes. Mandaya women traditionally wear embroidered cotton jackets, and tube-like hand woven abaca skirts. Men wear a loose and wide blue or white cotton trousers. Both the men and women wear pendants made from coins; necklaces of beads, teeth, herbs, and seeds; bracelets of brass, shell, or vines; rings of silver or tortoise shell. They inhabit in remote mountain clearings; hunting wild pig and deer using spears and dogs. Kaingin farming is still practiced, with rice, corn, and banana as staple food.

Their society is composed of small groups of several families who live together. Each domain is headed by a bagani whose rule is considered law, and who wears distinctive clothing. He has an advisory council referred as angtutukay, usually made up of elders in the community. Though with the development of the present political system, it is the civil structures of the barangay, which prevails, and the traditional Mandaya form of government is slowly being phased out.

Trade and Investments

Davao Oriental is situated in the southeastern section of Mindanao. It has 11 municipalities, a population of 412,899 and covers a land area of 516,446 hectares. The local terrain is generally hilly and mountainous and received an average rainfall of 11.85 mm. per month. The main agricultural crop of Davao Oriental is coconut followed by rice and corn. The province has 699 hectares of area suited for fishponds. Mineral deposits in Davao Oriental include non-metallic and metallic resources.

The province can be reached by land. The local road network is 1,876 kilometers long that links most of its barangays and connects the province to other parts of Mindanao The province has two local ports. The power requirements of Davao Oriental is supplied by a local electric cooperative while water supply comes from a combined source of formal water systems, artisan wells and shallow wells. The banking needs are served by 14 banks, three of which are government owned, one commercial bank and the rest are rural and cooperative banks. All the municipalities have local telephone systems and public calling offices owned and managed by the government.

The potential areas for investments in Davao Oriental concern the processing and packaging of coconut into industrial and consumer products, production of gifts, toys and household items using indigenous materials.

Partnership Initiatives

The price of unabated extraction of timber is complete decimation of resources vital to human survival. In Mati, Davao Oriental, a community called Macambol took charge of managing 1000 hectares of forest areas amidst excessive logging activities and became another example of how partnership can provide a better tomorrow.

In 1992, the DENR tapped communities, local leaders, NGOs and People’ Organizations to manage the remaining forest of Macambol. Later on, the local government unit joined in and allocated some of its resources to the project. After years of training the local communities, joint efforts in developing, implementing and monitoring resource management activities, significant results were made. The strict adherence to the CBFM guidelines and policies pushed timber utilization to a bare minimum and reduced pernicious logging activities to about 100 board feet per week down from 8000 board feet per day. The efforts also brought an increase in endemic species of flora.

Bridging the gap between the resources at hand and what is needed proved to be the bulk of the problem during the entire period. However, the partnership forged between the community, the LGU, the DENR and the NGOs enabled these stakeholders to harness their little resources to conserve and protect their remaining forest reserves. The experience in Macambol clearly shows how teamwork and dedication could lead to success.

Development Initiative Highlights: