Matanao, officially the Municipality of Matanao (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. At the 2020 census it had a population of 60,493 people. It is situated on the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, the second-largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines. Matanao is bordered in the west by the town of Columbio, in the province of

Sultan Kudarat Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Ku ...

, in the north by the towns of

Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957, the mos ...

and Bansalan, in the east by Hagonoy and the city of

Digos Digos, officially the City of Digos (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 188,376 people. The city lies on the western shores of Davao Gul ...

, and in the south by Kiblawan and

Padada Padada, officially the Municipality of Padada (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,878 people, making ...

History

On June 17, 1957, some of the barrios of the municipality of Bansalan namely Kibao, San Vicente, Kibuaya, Managa Km. 67, Sinawilan, New Visayas, Sacub, Upper Malabang, Tibongbong, Sinaragan, Maliit Digos, Kapok, Tamlangon, Manga, Buas, New Katipunan, Da-Anama, Upper Kauswagan, Kagaulas, Kabasagan, Tuwak, Mal, Latian, Lanturi, Dongan-Pekong, La Union, Kauswagan, and Paitan were grouped and constituted into a new and independent municipality known as Matanao. Matanao means a place or something to see or witness at a vantage point. In the earlier days, the place was known as "Matin-aw", a term used to mean clear. The name is derived from the crystal-clear brooks and rivers that abound in the area. No one could exactly tell how, when and why "Matin-aw" became Matanao. In 1920, long before Matanao was formally created into a municipality, Buas had already existed (representing Matanao) as a barangay of Santa Cruz inhabited by tribal minorities, the Blaans (''Bilaan'') with Datu Edu Gamban as their recognized leader. In 1927, migrants from the Visayas led by the late Rosendo Javelona and his family came to the place. Protestantism was spread by one Pastor Diamonon through the Javelonas. Ranchers also invaded the place and have for themselves large homesteads. Ten years later, sometime in 1937, scores of

Cebuanos The Cebuano people () are the largest subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. They originated in the province of Cebu in the region of Central Visayas, bu ...

came. Among them were Ildefonso Chavez, Roman Albarracin and Crispin Puerto and their kins. The next batch of Cebuanos came in the 1940s including the Famor and Relatado Clan. Countless batches of migrants from Luzon and Visayas flocked to the place and various cultural influences account for what Matanao is today. The people of the municipality is a blend of Cebuanos, Ilonggos,

Bicolanos The Bicolano people ( Bikol: ''Mga Bikolnon'') are the fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Their native region is commonly referred to as Bicol, which comprises the entirety of the Bicol Peninsula and neighboring minor islands, all ...

, Boholanos,

Ilocanos The Ilocano people (), also referred to as Ilokáno, Iloko, Iloco, Iluku, or Samtoy, are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group native to the Philippines. Originally from the Ilocos Region, located on the northwestern coast of Luzon, they hav ...

, Zamboanguenos,

Tagalogs The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, N ...

, Blaans, Calagans and Bagobos, Babel of dialects was experienced by the people in the place, but Cebuano came out to be the dominating language upon assimilation into the majority society of Cebuano-speakers, thus, becoming the mother tongue of the municipality up to this day.

Geography

Matanao is located in the province of

in Region XI

Davao Region Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao (; ), is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI. Situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao, enclosing Davao Gulf, it comprises fiv ...

Island. The municipality Matanao is about west-south-west of province capital City Of

and about south-south-east of Philippine main capital

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Matanao is politically subdivided into 33

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s, while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. The

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

forms the center of the municipality whereas the other 32 are in the outlying areas which several kilometers away from the town.

Climate

Hot and

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

most of the year. May to November is

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

season. The mean annual

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

of the municipality is between . The annual

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

ranges from . The coldest part of the year is usually from December to February, and the hottest months are April and May. Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.

Demographics

Economy

Although predominantly a rice-farming municipality, Matanao is a growing area for banana cultivation, with Cavendish and Lakatan banana plantations established in barangays Manga, Dongan-Pekong and Saboy.

References

External links

Matanao Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
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Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Davao del Sur