Dakbayan Hong Butuan
Butuan (pronounced /buːˈtwɑːn/), officially the City of Butuan (Butuanon: Dakbayan hong Butuan; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Butuan; Tagalog: Lungsod ng Butuan) and often referred to as Butuan City, is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the regional center of Caraga.
It is located at the northeastern part of the Agusan Valley, Mindanao, sprawling across the Agusan River. It is bounded to the north, west and south by Agusan del Norte, to the east by Agusan del Sur and to the northwest by Butuan Bay. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 337,063 people.
Butuan City was the capital of the province of Agusan del Norte until 2000, when Republic Act 8811 transferred the capital to Cabadbaran City. For statistical and geographical purposes, Butuan City is grouped with Agusan del Norte but governed administratively independent from the province but legislatively administered by the province's 1st congressional district.
The name "Butuan" is also believed to have originated from the sour fruit locally called batuan. Other etymological sources say that it comes from a certain Datu Buntuan, a chieftain who once ruled over areas of the present-day city
Butuan City has a land area of 81,662 hectares (201,790 acres),[3] which is roughly 4.1% of the total area of the Caraga region.
The existing land use of the city consists of the following uses: agriculture areas (397.23 km2), forestland (268 km2), grass/shrub/pasture land (61.14 km2) and other uses (90.242 km2). Of the total forestland, 105 km2 is production forest areas while 167.5 km2 is protection forest areas.
The forestland, as mentioned earlier, comprised both the production and protection forest. The classified forest is further specified as production forest and protection forest. In the production forest industrial tree species are mostly grown in the area. The protection forest on the other hand, is preserved to support and sustain necessary ecological performance. Included in this are the watershed areas in Taguibo, which is the main source of water in the area,
The city is endowed with swamplands near its coastal area. These swamp areas are interconnected with the waterways joined by the Agusan River. Most of the swamplands are actually mangroves that served as habitat to different marine species.
Filling material needs of the city are extracted usually from the riverbank of Taguibo River. Others are sourced out from promontories with special features and for special purpose.
The fishing ground of Butuan is the Butuan Bay of which two coastal barangays are located. It extends some two kilometers to the sea and joins the Bohol Sea. These are the barangays of Lumbocan and Masao
Balanghai Hotel and Convention Center, More than 260 financial institutions are operating in the city such as Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), BDO Unibank (Banco de Oro), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), Philippine National Bank (PNB), Chinabank, EastWest Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), Security Bank and Maybank.
Rural banks are also expanding aggressively. Based on a report from PDIC (as of December 2013), total savings deposit in Butuan City amounted to
P18,944,854,000, comprising 45% of the total deposits in Caraga Region.The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) opened its regional office here to take advantage of the vibrant gold trading industry in the region. Insurance companies, led by Philam Life, are also present in the city.
The city's major agricultural produce are rice, bananas, coconuts, poultry, shrimp, and milkfish. Its key industries include rice milling, food processing, wood processing, furniture, fuel distribution, shipbuilding, and construction. The manufacturing sector will soon get a boost as an industrial park is currently being developed. Butuan has also proven to be a haven for renewable energy with investments in solar and hydroelectric power generation pouring in the city.
Butuan is also fast-becoming a cosmopolitan city. Currently, there are three (3) major commercial centers catering its populace. These are
Robinsons Place Butuan, Puregold Price Club (both opened in 2013), and Gaisano (Unipace). Leading mall developer, SM, is expected to break ground by the end of 2016.
And also some of the mall developers in the Philippines have also expressed their interest in the city such as Gaisano Capital, Gaisano Grand, and CityMall to name a few. High-end real estate developers, such as Filinvest and Vista Land, have started their residential projects in the city.
The A. Brown Group is also developing another exclusive community with a 9-hole golf course. More low- and medium-cost housing projects are sprouting in the outskirts of the city evident of the city's strong market for shelter. Famous food brands have also opened shops in the city such as Jolibee, McDonald's, Chowking, Greenwich, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, Goldilocks, Pizza Hut, Gerry's Grill, Max's and Bo's Coffee. KFC has finally opened to the public.
As for the telecommunications infrastructure of the city, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, PLDT and Bayantel are able to serve its ever-growing needs
Butuan City is the commercial, industrial, and administrative center of Caraga region.It is a strategic trading hub in Northern Mindanao with major roads connecting it to other main cities in the island such as Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Surigao, and soon, Tandag.
It hosts one of the busiest airports in the country, the Bancasi Domestic Airport, serving around 525,000 passengers in 2012.[19] Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines are flying to and from Butuan City. Meanwhile, the nearby Nasipit International Port and in-city Masao Port are providing for its shipping and cargo needs.
The total number of businesses registered in 2013 was 9,619 - reflecting a growth of 9.86% and almost 3 times that of the next major Caraga city. New businesses registered numbered 2,032 with a combined capitalization of P504,598,667, an expansion of 75.63 from 2012.
As further proof of its dynamic economy, Butuan City's local income reached P330,510,000 in 2013 besting other major cities in the country.
The Balanghai Festival is also a celebration in Butuan, Agusan del Norte to commemorate the coming of the early migrants that settled the Philippines, on board the Balangay boats.[2] When the first Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, they found the Filipinos living in well-organized independent villages called barangays. The name barangay originated from balangay, the Austronesian word for "sailboat"
The Kahimunan Festival is an annual event on the occasion of the fiesta celebration of the Sto Niño in Barangay Libertad founded in 1987 by Father Juanito "Nito" Belino, first Parish Priest of Sto Niño Parish.
The Kahimunan is a traditional ritual performed by the natives before the start of the planting season, characterized by chanting, singing and playing accompanied by indigenous musical instruments such as the gimbor (drum), gong and bamboo instruments called Kalatong and Kotik.