Agusan del Norte was created as a separate province on June 17, 1967 by virtue of Republic Act 4979, a legislative action authored by the late Congressman Jose C. Aquin
o.
o.The place was carved out of what was then one Agusan Province. The territory was split into two and Agusan del Sur was also created as Agusan del Norte rose as one of the provinces of the country.
Butuan City, which was then a component city of Agusan del Norte, was named as capital and seat of government. That ended in 2000 when Republic Act 8811 was passed and making Cabadbaran as the new capital and administrative center of the province. Just recently, Cabadbaran was created as a new city making it as the other component city of Agusan del Norte.
Until 1911, Agusan, then named Butuan, was under the jurisdiction of Surigao. It was separated from Surigao with the passage of Act 1693 later. The separation gave birth to the then one AGUSAN as a province.
Agasan (where water flows), an allusion to the mighty river (Agusan River) that cuts through the area is widely believed to be the origin of the name Agusan. The ancestors of the present day Mamanwas were the aborigines of the place. The first wave of Malay immigrants from Borneo and the Celebes had driven them to the hinterlands.
The Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese had occupied the place in the historical wars that also saw the rising up of arms of the Agusanons.
Gumersindo Flores led the Agusanons in the war against the Spaniards at the turn of the 19th century. Victory was attained but the invading Americans snapped it.
The province was under direct American control until 1913. In 1914, the first Filipino governor under the commonwealth was appointed in the person of Teofisto Guingona.
In 1923, an election was held and Apolonio D. Curato became the first elected governor. He had a three- year term. Jose Rosales was elected next for two terms. In 1936 it was the turn of Mariano Atega.
Agustin Casinas succeeded Atega but his term was cut short by the Japanese occupation. A certain General Aguirre took the post.
When liberation came, Curato once again got the governorship for a year. Servando Jongko won in the election that was held in 1947.
Felixberto Dagani sat as a Governor in the years 1950-1959, then Democrito Plaza in 1960-1963.
Consuelo V. Calo held the position through the martial law years until 1966 when the revolutionary government of President Corazon C. Aquino that booted out then President Ferdinand E. Marcos through people power took over. Jose T. Gonzales served as OIC Governor of the province as the country reconstituted the foundations of democracy following years of martial rule. Death, however, limited his stewardship to only a year. Jesus Delfin finished Gonzales watch.
Eduardo L. Rama won in the first elections conducted after the ouster of Marcos. He held the position until the end of his three- term limit in 1995 and served until June 2004.
Erlpe John M. Amante, got the post in the 2004 elections and had been re-elected in 2007 and now still steers the province to its desired development.
PHYSICAL PROFILE
Agusan del Norte is situated 9 degrees north and 125 degrees and 30 minutes east longitude on the northeastern part of Mindanao Island, Philippines. Butuan City and the province of Surigao del Norte bound it on the north, Agusan del Sur on the south, Surigao del Sur on the east and Misamis Oriental on the west.
The place is one of the 79 provinces of the Philippines and one of the five that comprised the CARAGA Region.
RESOURCES
A. Land Classification, General Land Use
The province' total land area is 323,521.14 hectares to include the two (2) cities of Butuan and Cabadbaran and ten (10) municipalities of Agusan del Norte. Total Agricultural lands are 50, 773 hectares and total land devoted to fishponds is 3,442.86 hectares; livestock 20, 773 hectares and the rest are lands devoted to non- agricultural purposes; 1.) commercial – 65.58, industrial- 78.88 and residential is 680.66 hectares.
B. Mineral Resources, Rock Formation
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The mineral resources of the province are limestone, manganese and gold deposits that are generally untapped Most of the rock formations in the province are hardened by sedimentary process and underground volcanic movement of intrusive materials for about 365 million years now. Among the sedimentary rock formation are the pliocene-pleistocene, and basement complex, limestone and recent sedimentary formations. Among the intrusive materials or those brought about by underground volcanic movement are neogene and cretaceous-paleocene
C. Topography, Climate
Flat and rolling lands characterized much of Agusan Del Norte’s topography. Surrounded by mountains at the northwestern and southeastern fronts, the seas embraces valleys at its mid portion that runs in triangular form from the west and comprise the plains fronting, Butuan bay on the east. Lording over this landmass in terms of elevation is the 2,012 meter Mt. Hilong-hilong in Cabadbaran , part of Diwata Mountain Range at its northeastern boundary with the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur that stand as watershed to Caraga Region’s major rivers. The other highlands in the province are: Mt. Mabaho, 1,823 meters in Santiago; Mt. Mayapay; 718 meters in Buenavista and Mt. Pigalahan, 810 meters in Carmen.
By Philippine Classification, the climate in the province is type II. There is no definite dry season in the area. Maximum rain is from November to January. Lying within the eastern coast, the place faces the northeast monsoon, trade winds and storms. The average wind velocity is 002 meter per second, the maximum, 003 meter per second; its lowest humidity is 82% and the highest, 89%.
D. Tourism
Tourism in Agusan Del Norte is an infant industry. Blessings of history, cu
lture and the arts, natural endowments and people make her a blue-ship destination for heritage, sports, eco- tourism and adventure.
A heritage tour brings one back in time with visits to the 1872 Magellan Marker and the 15th century Bitaog tree in Magallanes, the 1878 Our Lady of Assumption Parish and Artifacts Gallery in Jabonga and Cabadbaran’s Ancestral Houses and Museum.
Sports tourism destination like the Arnis Camp in Jabonga, Badminton Camp in Cabadbaran and Table Camp in Nasipit are strong reflections of the province’s balanced effort to preserve culture and the arts on one hand and promote grassroots sports specialization on the other.
Teeing off, therefore, from the historic romance with “baoto” (native dug out canoe) through her signature “Baoto Festival”, the adventure menu on sale includes: canoeing Lake Mainit and Kalinawan River; climbing mystical Mt. Hilong-hilong; scuba diving the abysmal Vito Wall; trekking the panoramic Malimono Ridge; snorkeling the kaleidoscopic Gasoon Fish Sanctuary; rapelling Anibongan’s Cave seventy five vertical entrance; sailing at Nasipit Cove; sunset view at Mt. Carmel; camping at Looc Cove and immersion with Mamanwas at Coro, Pangaylan and Lusong among others.
EMPLOYMENT AREAS
A total of 124,000 or 89.87 per cent of Agusan del Norte’s 138,000 workforce are engaged in economic activities. Some 12.63 per cent however are underemployed or having jobs that offers less than 40 hours of work per week.
More than half or 50.94 per cent of the jobs are in agriculture, forestry and fishery, 27.12% are in services, 10.26% are in trading and 5.86% in manufacturing. The rest are in construction and mining, mostly quarrying activities.
DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES
The core concern of the province as highlighted by its current conditions is that its people are not living the kind of life that they deserve.
This despite the abundance of land and other resources in the place from where its residents can draw a satisfying existence.
And going by its service performance record, working harder may not just be enough. Along with more devotion to work and having ample tool for efficiency, the development activities must be destined with razor sharp precision along strategic targets and must be steered to see them through amidst clashing interests that characterizes the process in government’s prioritization.
Until 1911, Agusan, then named Butuan, was under the jurisdiction of Surigao. It was separated from Surigao with the passage of Act 1693 later. The separation gave birth to the then one AGUSAN as a province.
Agasan (where water flows), an allusion to the mighty river (Agusan River) that cuts through the area is widely believed to be the origin of the name Agusan. The ancestors of the present day Mamanwas were the aborigines of the place. The first wave of Malay immigrants from Borneo and the Celebes had driven them to the hinterlands.
The Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese had occupied the place in the historical wars that also saw the rising up of arms of the Agusanons.
Gumersindo Flores led the Agusanons in the war against the Spaniards at the turn of the 19th century. Victory was attained but the invading Americans snapped it.
The province was under direct American control until 1913. In 1914, the first Filipino governor under the commonwealth was appointed in the person of Teofisto Guingona.
In 1923, an election was held and Apolonio D. Curato became the first elected governor. He had a three- year term. Jose Rosales was elected next for two terms. In 1936 it was the turn of Mariano Atega.
Agustin Casinas succeeded Atega but his term was cut short by the Japanese occupation. A certain General Aguirre took the post.
When liberation came, Curato once again got the governorship for a year. Servando Jongko won in the election that was held in 1947.
Felixberto Dagani sat as a Governor in the years 1950-1959, then Democrito Plaza in 1960-1963.
Consuelo V. Calo held the position through the martial law years until 1966 when the revolutionary government of President Corazon C. Aquino that booted out then President Ferdinand E. Marcos through people power took over. Jose T. Gonzales served as OIC Governor of the province as the country reconstituted the foundations of democracy following years of martial rule. Death, however, limited his stewardship to only a year. Jesus Delfin finished Gonzales watch.
Eduardo L. Rama won in the first elections conducted after the ouster of Marcos. He held the position until the end of his three- term limit in 1995 and served until June 2004.
Erlpe John M. Amante, got the post in the 2004 elections and had been re-elected in 2007 and now still steers the province to its desired development.
PHYSICAL PROFILE
Agusan del Norte is situated 9 degrees north and 125 degrees and 30 minutes east longitude on the northeastern part of Mindanao Island, Philippines. Butuan City and the province of Surigao del Norte bound it on the north, Agusan del Sur on the south, Surigao del Sur on the east and Misamis Oriental on the west.
The place is one of the 79 provinces of the Philippines and one of the five that comprised the CARAGA Region.
RESOURCES
A. Land Classification, General Land Use
The province' total land area is 323,521.14 hectares to include the two (2) cities of Butuan and Cabadbaran and ten (10) municipalities of Agusan del Norte. Total Agricultural lands are 50, 773 hectares and total land devoted to fishponds is 3,442.86 hectares; livestock 20, 773 hectares and the rest are lands devoted to non- agricultural purposes; 1.) commercial – 65.58, industrial- 78.88 and residential is 680.66 hectares.
B. Mineral Resources, Rock Formation
.jpg)
The mineral resources of the province are limestone, manganese and gold deposits that are generally untapped Most of the rock formations in the province are hardened by sedimentary process and underground volcanic movement of intrusive materials for about 365 million years now. Among the sedimentary rock formation are the pliocene-pleistocene, and basement complex, limestone and recent sedimentary formations. Among the intrusive materials or those brought about by underground volcanic movement are neogene and cretaceous-paleocene
C. Topography, Climate
Flat and rolling lands characterized much of Agusan Del Norte’s topography. Surrounded by mountains at the northwestern and southeastern fronts, the seas embraces valleys at its mid portion that runs in triangular form from the west and comprise the plains fronting, Butuan bay on the east. Lording over this landmass in terms of elevation is the 2,012 meter Mt. Hilong-hilong in Cabadbaran , part of Diwata Mountain Range at its northeastern boundary with the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur that stand as watershed to Caraga Region’s major rivers. The other highlands in the province are: Mt. Mabaho, 1,823 meters in Santiago; Mt. Mayapay; 718 meters in Buenavista and Mt. Pigalahan, 810 meters in Carmen.
By Philippine Classification, the climate in the province is type II. There is no definite dry season in the area. Maximum rain is from November to January. Lying within the eastern coast, the place faces the northeast monsoon, trade winds and storms. The average wind velocity is 002 meter per second, the maximum, 003 meter per second; its lowest humidity is 82% and the highest, 89%.
D. Tourism
Tourism in Agusan Del Norte is an infant industry. Blessings of history, cu
lture and the arts, natural endowments and people make her a blue-ship destination for heritage, sports, eco- tourism and adventure.A heritage tour brings one back in time with visits to the 1872 Magellan Marker and the 15th century Bitaog tree in Magallanes, the 1878 Our Lady of Assumption Parish and Artifacts Gallery in Jabonga and Cabadbaran’s Ancestral Houses and Museum.
Sports tourism destination like the Arnis Camp in Jabonga, Badminton Camp in Cabadbaran and Table Camp in Nasipit are strong reflections of the province’s balanced effort to preserve culture and the arts on one hand and promote grassroots sports specialization on the other.
Teeing off, therefore, from the historic romance with “baoto” (native dug out canoe) through her signature “Baoto Festival”, the adventure menu on sale includes: canoeing Lake Mainit and Kalinawan River; climbing mystical Mt. Hilong-hilong; scuba diving the abysmal Vito Wall; trekking the panoramic Malimono Ridge; snorkeling the kaleidoscopic Gasoon Fish Sanctuary; rapelling Anibongan’s Cave seventy five vertical entrance; sailing at Nasipit Cove; sunset view at Mt. Carmel; camping at Looc Cove and immersion with Mamanwas at Coro, Pangaylan and Lusong among others.
EMPLOYMENT AREAS
A total of 124,000 or 89.87 per cent of Agusan del Norte’s 138,000 workforce are engaged in economic activities. Some 12.63 per cent however are underemployed or having jobs that offers less than 40 hours of work per week.
More than half or 50.94 per cent of the jobs are in agriculture, forestry and fishery, 27.12% are in services, 10.26% are in trading and 5.86% in manufacturing. The rest are in construction and mining, mostly quarrying activities.
DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES
The core concern of the province as highlighted by its current conditions is that its people are not living the kind of life that they deserve.
This despite the abundance of land and other resources in the place from where its residents can draw a satisfying existence.
And going by its service performance record, working harder may not just be enough. Along with more devotion to work and having ample tool for efficiency, the development activities must be destined with razor sharp precision along strategic targets and must be steered to see them through amidst clashing interests that characterizes the process in government’s prioritization.
