Agusan del Sur is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Caraga region in Mindanao. Its capital is Prosperidad and borders, from the north clockwise, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Davao, Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental.
People and culture
Five tribal groups are found in the province: Aeta, Mamanwa , Bagobo , Higaononand Manobo . The Manobos live along the national highway and river towns towards the boundary with Compostela Valley. The Higaonons live mostly in the western side of Agusan River, generally in Esperanza town towards the boundery with Bukidnon.
Though the original inhabitants were natives, the lure of "land of promise" has brought into the province settlers coming from the different regions of the country. Intermarriages between the settlers and the natives have continuously pulled down the percentage of the lumad stock. Presently, the populace is predominantly immigrants from the Visayan region.
Population
As of 2000, the population of the province is 559,294 persons. This represents an increase of 44,558 persons or 7.96 percent over a period of four years and eight months since the last census of 514,736 persons in 1995. The annual population growth rate is 1.79 percent.
On the other hand, the province recorded 103,637 households with a calculated household size of 5.39 persons. The population density is 62 persons per square kilometer with a male to female ration of 107:100.
The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, which comprises 79% of the population. Other major religions include the Seventh Day Adventist, Aglipay , Iglesia Ni Cristo, and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines .
Political
Agusan del Sur is subdivided into 14 municipalities:
- Bayugan
- Bunawan
- Esperanza
- La Paz
- Loreto
- Prosperidad
- Rosario
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- San Francisco
- San Luis
- Santa Josefa
- Sibagat
- Talacogon
- Trento
- Veruela
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Physical
Land area
In 1976, the province approximate area is 8,568 square kilometres, ranking as the seventh (7th) largest province in the country. After claiming the conflicted boundary between Davao, Butuan City and with the creation of Municipality of Sibagat, Agusan del Sur has now an aggregate area of 8966 square kilometres.
The municipalities of Loreto, La paz, Esperanza, and San Luis are the four largest municipalities in land area comprising almost sixty percent of the provinces total land area. On the other hand, Sta. Josefa and Talacogon, also river towns, have the smallest land area.
Location
Agusan del Sur occupies a coastal portion of north-eastern Northern Mindanao Region bounded on the North by Agusan del Norte, on the South by Davao del Norte and on the West by Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, on the East by Surigao del Sur. The province is landlocked and can be reached only by land transportation through the Davao-Butuan National Highway. Three minor roads also provide access for travelers coming from Tandag, Lianga, Barobo, and Bislig in Surigao del Sur, and one (1) road connects the south-western part of the province with Asuncion, Davao del Norte. All four roads, however intersect the National Highway at different points. Although Agusan River is a potential route towards the province, no existing ferry facilities regularly ply from Butuan City or Davao del Norte through the river.
Topography & climate
Agusan del Sur is an elongated basin formation with mountain ranges in the eastern and western sides forming a valley, which occupies the central longitudinal section of the land. The Agusan River which flows from Compostela Valley in the south towards Agusan del Sur in the North runs almost in the middle of the valley and empties at Butuan Bay. The river has twelve tributaries namely: Wawa, Gibong and Simulao Rivers in the eastern side and Ojot, Pusilao, Kasilayan, Libang, Maasam, Adgawan, Cawayan, Umayam and Ihaon Rivers in the western side. These tributaries are fed by numerous streams and creeks. The southern half of the province from the municipality of Veruela is an area filled with swamps and lakes, the biggest of which is Talacogon Lake.
Soil types
Agusan del Sur is endowed with rich and fertile soil. Because of its soil fertility, varied crops could be grown. Based in the Land Resources Evaluation Project conducted by the Bureau of Soils in 1983, Agusan del Sur soil types are characterized from deep to very deep, moderately deep to shallow and shallow to slightly acidic, strongly acidic, moderately acidic and neutral high fertility and low fertility. It has also varied colors dark-brown, brown, dark yellowish brown, very dark grayish brown, and reddish brown. Among soil types are clay, clayey, loam, loamy, silt loam, sandy, clay loam, coarse laomy and clayey loamy. They clayey loamy types are richer in nutrients than most sandy soils. The texture of the soil has a considered effect on many factors which affect plant growth and agricultural management.
Climate & rainfall
The province is geographically situated below the typhoon belt but is usually affected by depressions forming in the typhoon regions of Visayas and the province of Surigao del Norte. The climate map of the Philippines based on the modified coronas classification shows that the province falls under Type II.
Type II climate has no dry season with very pronounced wet season of heavy precipitation. Maximum rainfall generally occurs from December to January although there is no single dry month. Its average monthly rainfall is 355 mm. and average humidity is 27.15 degree Celsius. Areas characterized by this climate type are generally along or very near the eastern coast thus are open to the northeast monsoon.
History
The Agusan Valley was settled by a variety of cultural communities like the Manobos, Mamanwas and Higaonons. Archeological excavations in the lower Agusan valley plains have uncovered evidence of strong relationships between the region and the Southeast Asian states. A golden image of Javan-Indian design unearthed in the 1920s and molten jars uncovered in Prosperidad are indications that the region had commercial and cultural ties with the coast.
The Jesuits established a mission in Linao, in the vicinity of present day Bunawan in 1614. However, mission work was hampered by the hostility of the surrounding Manobo tribes. At the height of the power of the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the mid-17th century, the Manobos of the Agusan Valley were in alliance with Sultan Kudarat. Linao was attacked several times during the 1629 Caraga Revolt and the 1649 Sumuroy Revolt.
Towards the second half of the 19th century, the Jesuits resumed missionary work in the upper Agusan region. Missionary work was interrupted by the Philippine Revolution when the Jesuits either fled or were arrested by revolutionaries. During the American occupation, lumbering became an important activity in Agusan del Sur. Visayan migrants settled in the cleared plains, pushing indigenous communities farther into the mountainous slopes.
The territory of Agusan del Sur was governed as part of the province of Caraga during most of the Spanish period. In 1860, it was placed under the comandancia of Butuan, a district of the province of Surigao. In 1914, the province of Agusan was created by the American government. Agusan was divided into Agusan del Norte and Sur in 1967 by Republic Act 4979.
The province of Agusan del Sur was born on June 17, 1967 under Republic Act No. 4969 providing for the division of the province of Agusan into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. In January 1970 the first set of provincial officials assumed office after the provincial election of November, 1969. The same law provided that the capital of Agusan del Sur shall be the municipality of Prosperidad. The Government Center has been set up in Barangay Patin-ay.
Hon. Rufino C. Otero was elected as the first Provincial Governor and Honorable Democrito O. Plaza the first Congressman in the election of November 1969. The term of office of Congressman Democrito O. Plaza would have continued until December 1983 had it not for the proclamation of Martial Law on September 21, 1972, which in effect abolished the Congress. When the Interim Batasang Pambansa was convened in 1978 after almost a decade of absence under the martial Law, Hon. Edelmiro Amante represented the province in the National Assembly.
Cultural history
Agusan derived its name from the local dialect, "agasan", meaning "where the water flows", referring to the great river splitting the land and meandering south to north in a 250-kilometer rush to Butuan Bay. Agusan River - the third largest in the country - served as highway for the Spanish colonizers in gaining access to inner north-eastern Mindanao.
The history of Agusan del Sur is essentially linked with that of its sister province, Agusan del Norte, for most of their historical existence, they were but one province under one governor or under one local civil government.
Agusans pre-hispanic cultural history is traced back to the great influence of the Majapahit Empire through the discovery of an eight-inch (200 mm) tall image of a woman in pure gold at Maasam, Esperanza in the early 1920s and molten jars unearthed at Bah-bah, Prosperidad. The aborigines of Agusan del Sur are the ancestors of the present day Mamanwas, who were driven to the hinterlands by waves of Malay immigrants. These immigrants, in turn, sought the protection of the interior jungles because of the forays and the constant raids of "moro" pirates. The "moros" being sea-faring people confined themselves to the coastal areas, where they started their settlements.
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