Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte (; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; ), is a

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 ...

in the

Caraga Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

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 ...

. Its ''de jure'' capital is the city of Cabadbaran with several government offices located in the highly-urbanized city of

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan (; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; ), is a highly urbanized city and the regional center of Caraga, Philippines. It is the '' de facto'' capital of the province of Agusan del Norte ...

, which is the largest city and its ''de facto'' capital as well as the regional center of Caraga Region. It is bordered on the northwest by Butuan Bay; northeast by Surigao del Norte; mid-east by

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ; ), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Caraga Regions of the Philippines ...

; southeast by Agusan del Sur, and southwest by

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental (; ; ), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province located in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. The provincial capital, as well as its ...

History

Spanish colonial era

Prior to its creation as an independent province, Agusan, as it was once undivided, was under the jurisdiction of Surigao province during the Spanish colonial period.

American colonial era

In 1907, Agusan province was created as a separate province by the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

with two sub-provinces —

and

Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...

Japanese occupation

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1942, the Japanese Imperial forces landed in Northern Agusan. In 1945, Filipino soldiers of the 6th, 10th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 107th and 110th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary together with the recognized Agusan guerrilla fighter units began the liberation of Northern Agusan from Japanese forces during

. During the war, a unit of the joint Philippine-American defense force were located at Manot, Talacogon, in the interior of the Agusan Valley.

Philippine independence

In 1967, ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

4979'' divided Agusan into two independent provinces: Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur.

Contemporary

On August 16, 2000, the seat of provincial government was transferred from

to Cabadbaran through ''

8811'', although the province is yet to complete the transfer of provincial services and functions to the new capital. The capital town of Cabadbaran became a component city by virtue of ''Republic Act No. 9494'' which sought to convert the municipality into a city. The law was ratified on July 28, 2007. However, the cityhood status was lost twice in the years 2008 and 2010 after the LCP questioned the validity of the cityhood law. The cityhood status was reaffirmed after the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

finalized its ruling on February 15, 2011 which declared the cityhood law constitutional.

Geography

Agusan del Norte is situated in

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 ...

's western section of

. It is bordered on the northwest by Butuan Bay; northeast by Surigao del Norte; mid-east by

; southeast by Agusan del Sur, and southwest by

. Agusan del Norte has a total land area of . When

is included for geographical purposes, the province's land area is . The central portion of the province forms the lower basin of the third longest river in the country, the Agusan, its

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

located at Butuan Bay. Consequently, the terrain surrounding the river features flat to rolling lands. Mountainous terrain dominate the northeastern and western areas. The country's fourth largest lake, Lake Mainit is situated at the northern border between the province of Surigao del Norte.

Administrative divisions

Agusan del Norte comprises 10

municipalities 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' ...

and 1 component city. There are 253 barangays (including the independent city of

). The city of Cabadbaran is the officially designated capital of the province per ''

8811''. The highly urbanized city of Butuan is geographically within but administratively independent from the province. Ph fil agusan del norte

Demographics

The population of Agusan del Norte in the 2020 census was 387,503 people, making it the country's 64th most populous province. It had a density of . When the highly urbanized city of

is included for geographical purposes, the province's population is 691,566 people, with a density of . Cebuano is the most common language spoken in the province. Tagalog and English are also widely used and understood, often used for administrative functions by the local government and in education and business. Indigenous inhabitants in the province speak their respective languages and dialects fluently in addition to Cebuano. Descendants of other settlers from Luzon and other parts of Visayas speak their own respective ethnic languages to varying degrees by their respective communities within the province.

Religion

Catholicism

In 2013, the Diocese of Butuan (''Catholic-Hierarchy'') reported that

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is the predominant religion of the province comprising roughly 71% of the population. Significant minority belongs to Iglesia Filipina Independiente with 10% .

Others

The remaining beliefs usually belong to other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

denominations like Members Church of God International (MCGI) as well as

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Indigenous peoples also practice their ancient beliefs, although many of them have been converted to Christianity in recent years.

Economy

The economy of the province is dominantly agricultural, major crops of which include rice, corn, coconut, abaca, banana and mango. Agusan del Norte is also home of the 24.9mw Lake Mainit Hydro Power Plant and 8mw Asiga Hydro Power Plant that will serves Agusan del Norte.

Government

Agusan del Norte has two

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

encompassing its 10 municipalities and 1 component city, as well as the highly urbanized city of

Tourism

The province has many beaches in Cabadbaran and the municipalities of

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 ...

, Buenavista, Magallanes, Tubay, and Nasipit. Mount Hilong-Hilong, one of the tallest in the province, is located in Cabadbaran. Mount Hilong-hilong is one of the most accessible area through Malvar Trail the center of Remedios T. Romualdez Municipality. From the top of Prayer Mountain (Mount Pongkay), visitors can have a panoramic view of Cabadbaran which includes buildings, churches, rivers and the sea. The Agusan River, the longest in Mindanao and the third longest in the Philippines is in

. Looming southwest of the Agusan Valley is Mount Mayapay, a mountain

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

. The ancient

Balangay A balangay, or barangay, is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The ...

boats were found in Butuan, excavated in the Balangay Shrine across the Masao River from Bood Promontory. They played a major role because of Butuan being a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

. Since its discovery, the Balangays have become an icon of Butuan. The Kaya ng Pinoy, Inc. recreated the Balangay boats and have sailed it as part of their project, the Balangay Voyage.

Notable personalities

Within the province jurisdiction

* Soledad Duterte - a Filipino teacher and activist, known as the mother of 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 ...

(Cabadbaran) * Edelmiro Amante - former Executive Secretary, Congressman, Assemblyman and Presidential Consultant for Mindanao Flagship Projects (Cabadbaran) * Erlpe John Amante - former Governor and former Representative. In 2014, he was awarded as Outstanding Filipino Achiever in Public Service by the Golden Globe Annual Awards for Business Excellence (Cabadbaran) * Maria Angelica Rosedell Amante - current Representative and former governor (born in Cabadbaran) * Sylvia Sanchez - actress (Nasipit)

Outside the province jurisdiction (highly-urbanized city of
Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan (; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; ), is a highly urbanized city and the regional center of Caraga, Philippines. It is the '' de facto'' capital of the province of Agusan del Norte ...
)

References

External links

* *
Official website of the Provincial Government of Agusan del Norte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agusan Del Norte Provinces of the Philippines Provinces of Caraga States and territories established in 1967 1967 establishments in the Philippines