Santo Tomas, officially the Municipality of Santo Tomas (; ), 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 Norte Davao del Norte (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Sam ...

, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 128,667 people.

Etymology

''Santo Tomas'' was so named after Saint Thomas, the patron saint of Danao which is the hometown of then Governor of undivided

Davao Province Davao, officially the Province of Davao (; ), was a province in the Philippines on the island of Mindanao. The old province is coterminous with the present-day Davao Region or Region XI. It was divided into three provinces of Davao del Norte, D ...

Vicente Duterte Vicente Gonzales Duterte (; November 23, 1911 – February 21, 1968), also known by his nicknames Nene and Teti, was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and father of Rodrigo Duterte, the 16th president of the Philippines. He was governor of the the ...

, father of the 16th Philippine president

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

History

What is now Santo Tomas, initially called Tibal-og, was once part of the jurisdiction of nearby town of

Kapalong Kapalong, officially the Municipality of Kapalong (; ), is a municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 81,068 people. History Through Executive Order No. 151 signed by Pres ...

. Before the 1950s. the place used to be a lush forest inhabited by the indigenous Ata-

Manobo The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...

people. According to the town's pioneering residents, the area of what is now Kapalong (in which what is now Santo Tomas was still part of) and

Panabo City Panabo, officially the City of Panabo (; ), is a First Class component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 209,230 people. Panabo is the second most populous city in Davao ...

were planted for abaca during the pre-war years. Santo Tomas was established as a municipality through ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

No. 352'', issued by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

on August 14, 1959. It consists of Barrio Tibal-og, designated as the seat of government, and "other ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s'' or ''

sitio A ''sitio'' ( 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 barangay if its popu ...

s''" of

, and four ''barrios'' of

Panabo Panabo, officially the City of Panabo (; ), is a First Class component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 209,230 people. Panabo is the second most populous city in Davao ...

, all then part of the old Davao province. Feliciano P. Ganade served as the first elected mayor of Santo Tomas after briefly governing the city of Kapalong. From then on, it continued to grow and prosper, even as it went several successions of mayoralty governance throughout its history.

Geography

Santo Tomas is located 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 ...

, and it is in the province's second political district. It is bounded in the north by the Municipalities of

and

Talaingod Talaingod, officially the Municipality of Talaingod (; ), is a municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,333 people. The town was created by virtue of '' Republic Act No ...

, in the east by the Municipality of Asuncion, in the west by

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

, and in the south by the Municipality of Braulio E. Dujali.

Climate

Rainfall in Santo Tomas is evenly distributed throughout the year. Being a nearly typhoon-free municipality, the production of high-value crops is favorable all year round and makes a profitable investment.

Barangays

Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into 19

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 ...

Demographics

Santo Tomas is home to a diverse culture inter-mingling with

Mandaya The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially ado ...

and Ata-Manobo. The people are predominantly Cebuano. Santo Tomas is also the most populated municipality in the Province of Davao del Norte.

Economy

Significant to the economic development of Santo Tomas is a number of multi-national corporations and cooperatives engaged in

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

based commercial production successfully operating in the municipality. Rice production also contributes to the economic development of the municipality. SantoTomas was part of the lists for the top 15 richest municipality in Davao Region which was listed as the second place.

Transportation

Santo Tomas sits astride the Davao del Norte Provincial Circumferential Road. It is more or less or about an hour ride from Tagum City by any land vehicle, and the town offers a wide choice of public utility jeepneys via Kinamayan route or bus liners via

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

route.

is approximately or an hour and a half ride by bus or private car. Santo Tomas is accessible by land through any type of vehicle. There are tricycle units serving the different routes within the municipality. Most tricycles are color-coded red, with a capacity of 6 passengers per tricycle.

Education

Santo Tomas have several public and private institutions. Elementary schools: * Apitong Elementary School (Public) * Balagunan Elementary School (Public) * Balisong Elementary School (Public) * Bobongon Elementary School (Public) * Casig-ang Elementary School (Public) * Davao Winchester Colleges Inc. (Private) * Esperanza Elementary School (Public) * Holy Infant School of Santo Tomas, Inc. (Private) * Jireh School of Tomorrow (Private) * Jesus Lumain Elementary School (Public) * Kimamon Elementary School (Public) * Kinamayan Integrated School (Public) * La Libertad Elementary School (Public) * Lunga-og Elementary School (Public) * Magwawa Elementary School (Public) * Marsman Elementary School (Public) * Maryknoll High School of Santo Tomas (Private) * Mustard Seed Christian School, Inc. (Private) * Nafco Central Elementary School (Public) * New Katipunan Elementary School (Public) * New Visayas Elementary School (Public) * Pantaron Elementary School (Public) * Philippine Baptist Christian College of Mindanao, Inc. (Private) * Salvacion Elementary School (Public) * San Isidro Elementary School (Public) * San Jose Elementary School (Public) * San Vincenzo Learning Center (Private) * Santo Tomas Central Elementary School - Sped Center (Public) * Talomo Elementary School (Public) * Talos Elementary School (Public) * Temple Christian School, Inc. (Private) * Tulalian Elementary School (Public) High schools: * Balagunan National High School (Public) * Davao Winchester Colleges Inc. (Private) * Kimamon National High School (Public) * La Libertad National High School (Public) * Marsman National High School (Public) * Maryknoll High School of Santo Tomas (Private) * Mustard Seed Christian School, Inc. (Private) * Philippine Baptist Christian College of Mindanao, Inc. (Private) * Salvacion National High School (Public) * Santo Tomas National High School (Public) * Temple Christian School Inc. (Private) * Tulalian National High School (Public) Tertiary education: *

Bukidnon State University Bukidnon State University, abbreviated as BSU and colloquially referred to as BukSU, is a provincial state university in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Formerly named Bukidnon State College, it became a university in 2007. The other uni ...

(discontinued) * Davao Winchester Colleges Inc. (Private) *

University of Southeastern Philippines The University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP; ; ) is a public, research, coeducational, regional state university based in Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. Founded on December 15, 1978, the university is an integration of four state ...

* Santo Tomas College of Agriculture Science and Technology (STCAST) Technical/vocational schools: *ABA Technical School of Santo Tomas, Inc. * Davao Winchester Colleges Inc. (Private)

Culture

''Araw ng Santo Tomas'' (lit. Day of Santo Tomas) is a celebration held every 14 August annually. Events include drum and lyre competitions; parades, fireworks display, and many more.

Gallery

File:Tricycle Row STCESSC.jpg, Row of parked tricycles outside the Santo Tomas Central Elem. School SPED Center campus. File:Sto. Tomas Cultural Gymnasium.jpg, Santo Tomas Cultural Gymnasium File:San Miguel Church Sto. Tomas Davnor.jpg, San Miguel Parish Church

References

External links

Santo Tomas Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
*

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 ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance

Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Davao del Norte Political divisions established by Philippine executive order