Zamboanga del Norte

Motto(s): and largest cityDipologGovernment • TypeSangguniang Panlalawigan • GovernorRosalina G. Jalosjos (Nacionalista) • Vice GovernorJulius C. Napigquit (PDP–Laban) • LegislatureZamboanga del Norte Provincial BoardArea • Total7,301.00 km² (2,818.93 sq mi) • Rank9th out of 81Highest elevation629 m (2,064 ft)Population • Total1,047,455 • Rank27th out of 81 • Density140/km² (370/sq mi)  • Rank60th out of 81Divisions • Independent cities0 • Component cities • Municipalities • Barangays691 • DistrictsLegislative districts of Zamboanga del NorteTime zoneUTC+8 (PHT)ZIP codeIDD : area code +63 (0)65ISO 3166 codePH-ZANSpoken languagesIncome classification1st classWebsiteProvince of Zamboanga del Norte Official Website

Zamboanga del Norte (Cebuano: Amihanang Zamboanga; Subanon: Utara Sembwangan; Filipino: Hilagang Zamboanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a province in the Philippines situated within the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao. Its capital is Dipolog and the province borders Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay to the south, Misamis Occidental to the east, and the Sulu Sea to the west.

Zamboanga del Norte is the largest province of the Zamboanga Peninsula region by land area covering 7,301.00 square kilometres (2,818.93 sq mi).^[1] Zamboanga del Norte is the 26th populous province in the Philippines.

History

American invasion era

Prior to its creation as a province, Zamboanga del Norte formed the northern portion of the historical province of Zamboanga.

The early history of Zamboanga del Norte is shared with that of Zamboanga City, which had been the center of the entire Mindanao area, most notably during the American era. When Zamboanga City became a chartered city on October 12, 1936, it encompassed the southern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula and the island of Basilan, making it the largest city in the world in terms of land area.

Philippine independence

Foundation

Through Republic Act No. 711 issued on June 6, 1952, Zamboanga province was divided into two independent provinces, which included Zamboanga del Sur.^[3]

Martial law era

Zamboanga del Norte was the site of at least one major assassination during the Marcos Martial law era - the gunning down of Human Rights lawyers Jacobo Amatong and Zorro Aguilar by two soldiers of the Marcos government, who were never caught.^[4][5][6] Both lawyers have since been honored by having their names inscribed on the wall of remembrance at the Philippines’ Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the heroes and martyrs who fought against Ferdinand Marcos and his martial law regime.^[4]

Contemporary

Proposed carving out of new province

In 2017, House Bill No. 5040 was introduced in the House of Representatives seeking to carve out a new province from Zamboanga del Norte. The proposed Zamboanga Hermosa province was to consist of 12 municipalities and 2 legislative districts that make up the 3rd legislative district of Zamboanga del Norte:^[7][8] Baliguian, Godod, Gutalac, Kalawit, Labason, Leon B. Postigo, Liloy (its proposed capital), Salug, Sibuco, Siocon, Sirawai, and Tampilisan. However, the bill ultimately did not pass the 17th congress.

In 2023, a new House Bill 9311 proposed a creation of a new province, Zamboanga Occidental. The proposed province is supposed to include twelve municipalities: Leon B. Postigo, Salug, Godod, Liloy, Tampilisan, Kalawit, Labason, Gutalac, Baliguian, Siocon, Sirawai, and Sibuco.^[9]

Geography

Zamboanga del Norte covers a total area of 7,301.00 square kilometres (2,818.93 sq mi)^[10] occupying the northern portion of the Zamboanga Peninsula in western Mindanao. The province is bordered on the north and west by the Sulu Sea, on the northeast by Misamis Occidental, and on the south by Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.

It has an average elevation of 243.8 metres (800 ft), with Mount Dabiak in Katipunan as the highest peak at 2,600 metres (8,500 ft). Other parts, near the coastlines, are plains. The province's irregular coastline runs some 400 kilometres (250 mi) from north to south.

Climate

Zamboanga del Norte has a mild and moderate climate due to evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year. Its southern portion has a longer dry season.

Administrative divisions

Zamboanga del Norte comprises 25 municipalities and 2 cities. Dipolog, Sindangan and Dapitan are the top most densely populated area in the province These are further subdivided into 691 barangays, and clustered into 3 congressional districts.^[10]

Sibuco is the largest municipality by land area, constituting 10.72% (782.54 square kilometers) of the total provincial area. Sibutad is the smallest, with 0.90% (65.57 square kilometers).^[10]

 †  Provincial capital and component city

 ∗  Component city

 §  Premier municipality

  Municipality

City or municipality District[10] Population ±% p.a. Area[10] Density Barangay Coordinates[A] (2020)[2] (2015)[12] km2 sq mi /km2 /sq mi Baliguian 3rd 2.3% 23,771 22,588 +0.98% 439.26 169.60 54 140 17 7°48′38″N 122°08′43″E / 7.8105°N 122.1452°E / 7.8105; 122.1452 (Baliguian) Dapitan City ∗ 1st 8.1% 85,202 82,418 +0.63% 390.53 150.78 220 570 50 8°39′17″N 123°25′20″E / 8.6548°N 123.4221°E / 8.6548; 123.4221 (Dapitan) Dipolog City † 2nd 13.2% 138,141 130,759 +1.05% 241.13 93.10 570 1,500 21 8°35′10″N 123°20′28″E / 8.5861°N 123.3410°E / 8.5861; 123.3410 (Dipolog) Godod 3rd 1.7% 17,510 17,424 +0.09% 190.00 73.36 92 240 17 7°59′54″N 122°50′30″E / 7.9983°N 122.8417°E / 7.9983; 122.8417 (Godod) Gutalac 3rd 3.4% 36,090 34,654 +0.78% 492.86 190.29 73 190 33 7°58′21″N 122°23′58″E / 7.9724°N 122.3994°E / 7.9724; 122.3994 (Gutalac) Jose Dalman 2nd 2.8% 28,881 27,388 +1.02% 135.00 52.12 210 540 18 8°26′33″N 123°01′20″E / 8.4424°N 123.0221°E / 8.4424; 123.0221 (Jose Dalman) Kalawit 3rd 2.3% 23,812 23,633 +0.14% 217.89 84.13 110 280 14 7°54′17″N 122°31′35″E / 7.9048°N 122.5265°E / 7.9048; 122.5265 (Kalawit) Katipunan 2nd 4.3% 44,661 45,577 −0.39% 244.12 94.26 180 470 30 8°30′46″N 123°17′05″E / 8.5128°N 123.2847°E / 8.5128; 123.2847 (Katipunan) La Libertad 1st 0.8% 8,119 8,406 −0.66% 69.51 26.84 120 310 13 8°28′07″N 123°31′33″E / 8.4685°N 123.5257°E / 8.4685; 123.5257 (La Libertad) Labason 3rd 4.2% 43,934 41,357 +1.16% 169.58 65.48 260 670 20 8°03′52″N 122°31′28″E / 8.0645°N 122.5244°E / 8.0645; 122.5244 (Labason) Leon B. Postigo 3rd 2.6% 27,639 26,221 +1.01% 255.50 98.65 110 280 18 8°09′10″N 122°55′30″E / 8.1528°N 122.9249°E / 8.1528; 122.9249 (Leon T. Postigo) Liloy 3rd 4.0% 42,213 39,812 +1.12% 128.43 49.59 330 850 37 8°07′24″N 122°40′45″E / 8.1234°N 122.6793°E / 8.1234; 122.6793 (Liloy) Manukan 2nd 3.5% 36,887 36,526 +0.19% 246.35 95.12 150 390 22 8°30′57″N 123°05′38″E / 8.5159°N 123.0940°E / 8.5159; 123.0940 (Manukan) Mutia 1st 1.1% 11,726 12,675 −1.47% 73.58 28.41 160 410 16 8°25′12″N 123°28′34″E / 8.4200°N 123.4761°E / 8.4200; 123.4761 (Mutia) Piñan 1st 1.9% 20,221 20,161 +0.06% 93.75 36.20 220 570 22 8°28′45″N 123°26′59″E / 8.4793°N 123.4497°E / 8.4793; 123.4497 (Piñan) Polanco 1st 4.0% 42,265 39,347 +1.37% 206.88 79.88 200 520 30 8°31′52″N 123°21′46″E / 8.5310°N 123.3629°E / 8.5310; 123.3629 (Polanco) President Manuel A. Roxas 2nd 3.7% 39,198 39,323 −0.06% 206.25 79.63 190 490 31 8°30′51″N 123°13′57″E / 8.5143°N 123.2326°E / 8.5143; 123.2326 (President Manuel A. Roxas) Rizal 1st 1.4% 15,052 14,021 +1.36% 80.03 30.90 190 490 22 8°31′32″N 123°33′06″E / 8.5255°N 123.5517°E / 8.5255; 123.5517 (Rizal) Salug 3rd 3.1% 32,134 32,204 −0.04% 206.60 79.77 160 410 23 8°06′25″N 122°45′25″E / 8.1070°N 122.7570°E / 8.1070; 122.7570 (Salug) Sergio Osmeña Sr. 1st 3.0% 31,942 30,220 +1.06% 556.44 214.84 57 150 39 8°17′57″N 123°30′30″E / 8.2992°N 123.5082°E / 8.2992; 123.5082 (Sergio Osmeña Sr.) Siayan 2nd 3.5% 36,236 34,966 +0.68% 494.75 191.02 73 190 22 8°15′05″N 123°06′48″E / 8.2513°N 123.1134°E / 8.2513; 123.1134 (Siayan) Sibuco 3rd 3.4% 36,049 34,620 +0.77% 782.54 302.14 46 120 28 7°17′32″N 122°04′00″E / 7.2923°N 122.0668°E / 7.2923; 122.0668 (Sibuco) Sibutad 1st 1.7% 17,453 17,645 −0.21% 65.57 25.32 270 700 16 8°36′45″N 123°28′48″E / 8.6126°N 123.4801°E / 8.6126; 123.4801 (Sibutad) Sindangan § 2nd 9.9% 103,952 99,435 +0.85% 451.00 174.13 230 600 52 8°14′03″N 122°59′57″E / 8.2343°N 122.9993°E / 8.2343; 122.9993 (Sindangan) Siocon 3rd 4.6% 48,524 46,907 +0.65% 503.20 194.29 96 250 26 7°42′24″N 122°08′22″E / 7.7067°N 122.1395°E / 7.7067; 122.1395 (Siocon) Sirawai 3rd 3.0% 31,163 28,799 +1.51% 222.50 85.91 140 360 34 7°35′14″N 122°08′24″E / 7.5873°N 122.1400°E / 7.5873; 122.1400 (Sirawai) Tampilisan 3rd 2.4% 24,680 24,307 +0.29% 137.75 53.19 180 470 20 7°58′27″N 122°39′51″E / 7.9741°N 122.6643°E / 7.9741; 122.6643 (Tampilisan) Total 1,047,455 1,011,393 +0.67% 7,300.11 2,818.59 140 360 691 (see GeoGroup box) ^ Coordinates are sortable by latitude. (Italicized entries indicate the generic location. Otherwise, they mark the city or town center).

1st District: Angelica "Angel" Jalosjos Carreon Patri "Jing" Bajamunde - Chan

2nd District: Peter Y. Co Jasmin N. Pinsoy-Lagutin Dante G. Bagarinao Michael "Jojo" M. Documento, Jr.

3rd Drstrict: Kay Marie P. Bolando Leo Nicanor B. Mejorada Franco Angelo "Conkee" C. Buctuan Jeff Raymund "JR" M. Brillantes

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4. ^ ^{a b} "HEROES AND MARTYRS: AGUILAR, Zorro C." Bantayog ng mga Bayani. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
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9. ^ House of Representatives. "House Bill No 9311" (PDF). Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
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12. ^ ^{a b} Census of Population (2015). "Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
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19. ^ "Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Population, by Region and Province: 1991, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 27 August 2016.
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