General Information

Caraga is an administrative region of the Philippines, on the northeastern portion of the island of Mindanao. It is the newest region in the Philippines, and is also called Region XIII.

The word Caraga originated from the Visayan word Kalagan: kalag meaning soul or people, and a meaning land. The Kalagans have a long history of being brave and fearless. Thus, the region was called by early chroniclers as the "Land of the Brave and Fierce People".
From 2001-2003, Caraga Region consistently maintained its performance vis-à-vis other regions in Mindanao, Philippines. Caraga posted a 0.9% growth rate compared to the 9.5% growth rate of Region 12 and the 2.6% growth rate of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Caraga’s growth rate in 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 period was the same (0.9%). This was much less than the growth of the population. This performance was better however than the region’s performance in 2000-2001 period, where the region’s economy declined by 1.4%.

Economy/Resources

Rich in natural resources, the region has large tracts of land available for development. The region is noted for its wood based economy, its extensive water resources and its rich mineral deposits such as iron, gold, silver, nickel, chromite, manganese and copper. Its leading crops are palay, banana and coconut. It has excellent tourism potentials because of its unspoiled and beautiful beaches, abundant and fresh seafood, ancient and historical landmarks, hot and cold springs evergreen forests and balmy weather.

Culture

The majority of the inhabitants of the region are of Visayan heritage. Most numerous were the Manobos with 294,284 or 43.55% of the total population of ethnic minorities. Other cultural groups in the region with significant population were the Kamayo, Higa-onon, Banwaon, Umayamnon, and Mamanwa. Most members of these cultural groups reside in the province of Agusan del Sur. It is reported that during the early years of the Caraga region, its inhabitants came from mainland Asia, followed by Malayans, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Americans. Migrants from the Visayan and Luzon provinces later settled in the area. Most of its inhabitants speak the Cebuano dialect and reside in the rural areas.

Climate

Caraga Region has Type II kind of climate, with no pronounced wet and dry season. It has been observed that during the months of November to February, occurrence of heavy rains is usually experienced in the region.