Compostela Valley Province, Philippines

By James Barcelona

Tourist Attractions

Compostela Spring

Compostela Valley, called Comval for short, is a province of the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. The province used to be part of Davao del Norte until it was made independent in 1998 by virtue of Republic Act No. 8470. It is the third newest province of the Philippines and is subdivided into 11 municipalities with the municipality of Nabunturan as the provincial capital. Compostela Valley borders Davao del Norte to the west, Agusan del Sur to the north, and Davao Oriental to the east. To the southwest lies the Davao Gulf.

Majority of the inhabitants of the province are migrants from Cebu, Samar, Bohol and other Visayan provinces. The cultural minorities in the province include the Mansaka, Mandaya, Dibabawons, Mangguangans and Aeta groups such as the Talaingod, Langilan and Matigsalug.

Compostela Falls

Up to the present, many people of the province speak Criole Spanish called kinatsila, a term derived from one of the kingdoms in Spain that is Castille. Tourists who have been in the province called it as the Lost Spain because its substantial minority looks like Spanish as they are mestizos.

Malumagpak Falls

Compostela Valley is classified as a first class province. Agriculture is the major economy of the province with about 30.70% of its land area devoted to agricultural activities. The major crops are rice, corn, vegetables, and root crops. The industrial crops include coconut, coffee, banana and minor crops that include abaca, cacao and fruits. The province has a robust livestock and poultry industry mostly cattle, carabao, hogs, chicken, goat, turkey, geese and ducks.

San Vicente Cave

Compostela Valley has a rich mineral resource base. Its chief mineral product is gold. Also found in huge commercial quantities are copper, silver, silica, chromite, and sand and gravel. The coastal municipalities of Maco, Mabini and Pantukan have flourishing aquaculture and fisheries industries.

Tagbibinta Falls

Annual festivals and events in the province include the Simballay Festival which is a thanksgiving celebration; Bulawan Festival which is to celebrate the gold harvest and the Founding Anniversary of the province; and the P’yagsawitan Festival which is celebrated for a bountiful harvest.

The province is proud of its people and cultural heritage – a varied mixture of ethnicity and dominance. To be in Compostela Valley is to experience a blend of sight and sound that defines the place and its people pulsing with life. The people of the province want to explore and revel on nature’s finest without destroying the environment.