July 1 2016 declared holiday in Davao provinces
The four provinces in Region XI, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur, will be celebrating their 49th foundation anniversary this July 1.
The day is a public holiday on the said provinces by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 6380. The law was enacted in 1971, during the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos. Read the full text of RA 6380 in this link. Because it falls on a Friday this year, the holiday effectively gives Davaoeños a three-day weekend.
As mentioned last year, there used to be a single Davao province from 1914 to 1967. This eventually was separated into three provinces by virtue of RA 4867. This law now serves as the provincial charter for all those provinces, which are located at the extreme southern Philippines.
The law also designated Tagum, Digos, and Mati as the capitals of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental, respectively. These former municipalities have since been converted into cities over the decades.
Davao Occidental, for its part, was created just last 2013 through RA 10360, making it the newest province in the country. The citizens of the province was able to choose their first set of elected officials during last month’s national and local polls.
Alongside Compostella Valley and the three other Davao provinces, Davao Occidental is now the fifth province under Region XI. It is composed of the following municipalities (mostly carved out from Davao del Sur): Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Santa Maria, Sarangani, and Malita, which serves as the seat of power.
(PS: Davao City is not included in this holiday announcement because of its status as a highly-urbanized city administratively separate from Davao del Sur.)
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