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Metro Davao, officially called Metropolitan Davao (Cebuano: Kaulohang Dabaw; Filipino: Kalakhang Davao), is a metropolitan area in the Mindanao island group, Philippines. It includes the cities of Davao City, Digos, Mati, Panabo, Samal and Tagum and spanned parts of all five provinces of Davao Region. Metro Davao is one of three metropolitan areas in the Philippines.[5] It is administered by Metropolitan Davao Development Authority.[1] It is the largest metropolitan region by land area and the second most populous in the Philippines.

Metro Davao Kaulohang Dabaw  (Cebuano)
Metropolitan area
Metropolitan Davao
Skyline of Davao City
Metro Davao within    Davao Region
Coordinates: 7°04′N 125°36′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Davao Region (Region XI)
Province(s)	Davao del Norte Davao de Oro Davao del Sur Davao Occidental Davao Oriental
Managing entity	Metropolitan Davao Development Authority[1]
Established	1995 (as metropolitan area)[2] 2022 (as administrative area)[3]
Cities and Municipalities	15
Area
• Total	6,492.84 km2 (2,506.90 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[4]
• Total	3,339,284
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Divisions
• Highly-urbanized cities	1 Davao City
• Component cities	5 Digos Mati Panabo Samal Tagum
• Municipalities	9 Carmen Hagonoy Maco Malalag Malita Padada Sta. Cruz Sta. Maria Sulop
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)

History

Comparison to other Philippines' metropolitan regions

The agglomeration of Metro Davao has no formal legal framework early on its initial stage of development process either by an act of Congress, by an executive declaration of the President or by a formal agreement among component cities and municipalities of the metropolitan area.

In the case of Metro Manila, the component cities and municipalities were grouped into a province through a decree issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, and designated the then First Lady Imelda Marcos as a governess. From then on, Greater Manila, as it was known earlier, became Metro Manila.

To formalize its juridical identity, Congress passed into law Republic Act No. 7924, instituting the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. Under the current law, the head of the agency shall be appointed by the President and should not be on a concurrent elected position as mayor.

Metro Cebu is a concept created in the 70's and formally adopted by the Regional Development Council of Central Visayas as a platform for integrating parallel development in the metropolitan area.

Formation of the Metropolitan Area

Although Metro Davao was formed in 1995 by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City at that time, it does not have the birth perspective of either Metro Cebu or Metro Manila. The metropolitan concept of Metro Davao is being spearheaded by the mayor but no formal agreement or an act of congress have been executed to formalize its legal and juridical identity. Because of this, the region, having no official legal framework (although they have a de facto one, the Davao Regional Development Council), exists not as a juridical identity but only as an informal reference to the area. However, the said council have formally adopted the concept in 1996 for the development of the area, especially Davao City.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11708 on 27 April 2022, paving the way for the establishment of the Metro Davao Development Authority which would oversee the administration and planning in the metropolitan area.[1]

Government

Metropolitan Davao Development Authority
Abbreviation	MDDA
Agency overview
Formed	April 13, 2022
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Philippines
Legal jurisdiction	Metro Davao
Governing body	Metropolitan Davao Development Council

Prior to the creation of the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority in 2022, Metro Davao had its three own development and governance councils, namely: Davao Integrated Development Program Board, Metropolitan Davao Committee, and Metropolitan Davao Management Office. Davao Integrated Development Program Board served as the metropolitan area's development council, since Metro Davao not only defines the LGUs in the said metropolitan area, but also all of Davao Region.[6] As such, it was not an administrative political unit but an agglomeration of independent local government units, the third level government in the Philippine political system. With Republic Act No. 11708 signed into effect in 2022 however, the then newly created Metropolitan Davao Development Authority will replace the provisional entities that are overseeing the affairs of the metropolis, thus effectively turning Metro Davao into an administrative political unit in the same level as Metro Manila.[3] It is considered to be a special development and administrative region.[7]

Definitions of Metro Davao

As years passed on, the definitions of Metro Davao had changed in recent years.[8] Metro Davao, as of now, has taken on three identical geographical definitions,[6] namely:

• The metropolitan area is synonymous with Davao City itself, since the city is one of the largest cities in the world by land area and its land area^{[citation needed]} encompasses more than six times the size of Metro Manila and three times the size of Metro Cebu.
• The metropolitan area encompasses Davao City and its neighboring cities and towns of Tagum, Panabo, Digos, and Samal, Carmen, and Santa Cruz.
• The metropolitan area refers to Davao City and its nearby five provinces, namely: Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and Davao Occidental[note 1]

Note

Component Local Government Units

Local government unit[1]	Population (2020)[4]	Area (km2)[9][10]	Pop. density (per km2)
Davao City	1,776,949	2,443.61	727.2
Digos	188,376	287.10	656.1
Mati	147,547	588.63	250.7
Panabo	209,230	251.23	734.8
Samal	116,771	301.30	387.6
Tagum	296,202	195.80	1,330.5
Carmen	82,018	166.00	449.9
Hagonoy	56,919	114.28	498.1
Maco	83,237	342.23	284.4
Malalag	40,158	186.12	215.8
Malita	118,197	883.37	133.8
Padada	29,878	83.00	360.0
Santa Cruz	101,125	319.91	284.4
Santa Maria	57,526	175.00	328.7
Sulop	35,151	155.26	226.4
Total	3,339,284	6,492.84	622.6

Geography and demographics

The metropolitan area has 6,492.84 km², making it the largest metropolitan area in the Philippines in terms of land area. It also has a population of 3,062,291 in the combined population sizes of the local government units that make up the metropolitan area during the 2015 census, [11] making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the country after Metro Manila and the most populous in the entire Visayas-Mindanao region.

Economy

The economy of Metro Davao is one of the largest in the country and the most economically active in Mindanao. Davao City, from which the metropolitan area is centered, is known as the Crown Jewel of Mindanao due to its status as the premier city, the financial and trade center, and hub of Mindanao.

There are several industrial and business establishments within the metropolitan area as well. Industrial plants in Davao City, Santa Cruz, and Digos generate income for their respective LGU's as well as for the locals living there. Banana plantations in the northern part of the metropolitan area also contribute to the metropolitan, as well as the national, economy. Local fruits such as durians, mangoes, pineapples, and mangosteens are also exported abroad.

List of LGUs in Metro Davao by annual income

City/Municipality	Annual Income as of 2019 (₱)	Classification[9][10]
Davao City	10,508,640,000.00	1st class highly urbanized city
Tagum	1,705,431,000.00	1st class city
Digos	1,178,112,000.00	2nd class city
Panabo	1,211,434,000.00	3rd class city
Samal	823,122,000.00	4th class city
Santa Cruz	414,349,000.00	1st class town
Carmen	278,657,000.00	1st class town
Total	16,119,745,000.00

Agriculture

Davao City is one of the country's leading producers and exporters of durian, mangoes, pomeloes, banana, coconut products, papaya, mangosteen, and even flowers. Panabo hosts one of the country's biggest banana plantations, which is owned by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (TADECO) that covers around 6,900 hectares of banana fields. Digos is popular for the mangoes produced in the city.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Airport

Metro Davao, as a whole, is being served by Davao City's Francisco Bangoy International Airport. It is the largest and the most developed airport on the island of Mindanao. It comes second for having the longest runway in the island at 3,000 meters after that of General Santos International Airport. The airport is currently the third busiest airport in the country after Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Mactan–Cebu International Airport, and the busiest in Mindanao. This international facility is one of the domestic hubs of Philippines AirAsia, Cebu Pacific Air, and Philippine Airlines. Presently, the airport serves flights to Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Pampanga, Bacolod, Tagbilaran, Tacloban, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan and as far as Singapore, Hong Kong, Quanzhou (suspended), and Doha. So far, Davao's ATC Tower is considered the most sophisticated in the country.

Seaport

Three of the four main seaports in the region operate in Metro Davao, namely: Sasa International Seaport in Sasa and Santa Ana Pier in the Chinatown District, both in Davao City; and Panabo Seaport in Davao del Norte. The former two, both of which are located in Port of Davao in Davao City, can service both interisland and international shipments. Sasa International Container Port, also located in the Davao International Seaport, is one of the busiest in the entire Visayas-Mindanao region.

Tagum-Davao-Digos Railway

Overland

Located near Quimpo, the Davao Overland Transport Terminal, connected to the Capital Manila by buses, Philtranco Flag Carrier Bus, PP Bus Line, and from the Visayas the Bachelor Tours. To the south by Mindanao Star passing Digos, General Santos, Koronadal, Shariff Aguak via SurAllah, Cotabato, and Others to the south, the Yellow Bus also serves to the south via an Inter-National Highway.

Energy

Cities of Davao and Panabo, together with the municipality of Carmen is electrified and is served by Davao Light an AboitizPower Distribution Utilities subsidiary.

Sanitation

Davao City has its own water service. An inter Regional Water Service and Development from Compostela Valley Region specifically Nabunturan.

Davao City and Panabo share its sanitary landfill at Barangay Carmen vicinity while the town of Carmen and Tagum has their own near Tagum city boundary.

Education

Metro Davao has a number of educational institutions catering to the needs of its residents. These colleges and universities are mostly found in Davao City. There are also a number of international schools that serve the metro. Here are some notable institutions in Metro Davao.

Public

• Davao del Norte State College (1995)
• Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (1982)
• University of Southeastern Philippines (1978)
• University of the Philippines Mindanao (1995)

Private

Media

Davao City, having over a million night-time population and an estimated 4 million day-time population is home to many media outlets and Large media networks, maintain their respective local stations and branches for viewership, commercial and news coverage purposes. Most of these stations broadcast local news and public affairs as well as entertainment and dramas to cater to the local viewers.

TV Stations

• TV5 Davao Channel 2 (TV5 Network, Inc.)
• ABS-CBN TV-4 Davao (ABS-CBN Corporation)
• GMA TV-5 Davao (GMA Network, Inc.)
• SBN/ETC TV-7 Davao (Southern Broadcasting Network)
• RPN/CNN Philippines TV-9 Davao (Radio Philippines Network)
• PTV-11 Davao (People's Television Network)
• IBC TV-13 Davao (Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation)
• S+A Channel 21 Davao (ABS-CBN Corporation)
• RJTV Channel 23 (Rajah Broadcasting Network)
• Hope Channel 25 Davao (Hope Channel Philippines)
• GTV Channel 27 Davao (GMA Network, Inc.)
• One Sports Channel 29 (Nation Broadcasting Corporation/TV5 Network, Inc)
• BEAM TV-31 Davao (Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media)
• RHTV 33 Davao (Manila Broadcasting Company)
• Net25 Channel 39 Davao (Eagle Broadcasting Corporation)
• GNN TV-41 Davao (Global Satellite Technology Services)
• SMNI TV-43 Davao (Sonshine Media Network International)
• DCBN Channel 45 (Davao Christian Bible Channel)
• UNTV Channel 51 Davao (Progressive Broadcasting Corporation)

Cable and Satellite TV Operators

• Sky Cable Davao - Davao City
• Davao Cableworld Network – Davao City
• Eastcoast Cable TV Network - Davao City and Mati City
• Digos Cable TV Network - Digos
• Prime Cable Network - Digos and Samal
• Wise Cable TV Network - Tagum and Maco
• Love Net TV – Tagum
• Panabo Satellite Cable TV - Panabo, Carmen and Samal
• Asymmetrical Cable TV Network - Carmen and Padada
• G Sat Cable
• Sky Direct
• Cignal TV

Aside from the 24 national daily newspapers available, Davao City also has 21 local newspapers. Among the widely read are the Sun Star Davao, Mindanao Times, and the Mindanao Examiner.

See also

• Metro Manila
• Metro Cebu
• Metro Clark

References

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