Official Website of Panabo City

{History}

An early civilization of Aetas and Kalagans from the southern part of Mindanao settled in an area abundant with upland and lowland resources, promising a bright future for its residents. As early as then, the place was known as a Taboan, a major trading place in the South; thus, giving birth to a town named Panabo.

From a mere barangay of Magugpo, which is now known as Tagum City, Panabo flourished into a municipality last July 19, 1949 through Presidential Proclamation No. 236 of the late President Manuel L. Quezon.

Fifty two years later, with an overwhelming positive response from the residents, Panabo metamorphosed into a city through Republic Act 9015 last March 31, 2001.

Now in its 8^th year as a 3^rd class component city of Davao del Norte, Panabo is home to 154,329 residents spread out in 40 barangays.

An infant city in the south, Panabo, comprising of a land area of 25,123 hectares, is situated between two larger cities, the beautiful Tagum and the booming Davao. It is located 25 minutes away from Davao International Airport and will soon boast a public sea port. Indeed, Panabo is well on its way to meeting its destiny as the “Agri-Industrial Gateway to the World”.

{Banana Industry}

Purported to be the banana capital of Davao del Norte, Panabo cultivated 40% of its land or around 10,000 hectares into planting export-quality bananas, which is better known as Cavendish Bananas.

The Cavendish Banana is recognized around the world as one of the most nutritious tropical fruit, which is high in potassium, fiber, manganese and Vitamin C and B6. The Japanese right now are going crazy over bananas that they even established and published a Morning Diet out of it.

In fact, Panabo is the home of the world’s biggest banana plantation, which is owned by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company. TADECO covers around 6,900 hectares of banana fields and produce millions of boxes of export-quality bananas annually.

Aside from TADECO, Dole-Stanfilco also builds a name for Panabo City as the first company to have put up a Vapor Heat Treatment Facility in the Philippines. In fact, it was Former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos who inaugurated the facility. This facility improves the post-harvest quality of the products of the company for export.

To address their shipping needs, Tadeco and Dole-Stanfilco have put up port facilities, which enable them to directly transport Bananas to countries like Japan, Korea, China, Middle East and even in Europe. Adding highlight to Dole’s facilities is the Fruit Wharf, which is a few of its kind in the Philippines. Aside from bananas, the wharves also export other agricultural products, such as mango, papaya and pineapple, which are produced not only in Panabo but also in various places in Mindanao, such as Davao and Bukidnon.

As the city’s prime product, Banana has not just brought in dollars to the city but it also converges the people towards our progress.

{Panabo Bangus}

Aside from Cavendish bananas, Panabo is also known as the home of the finest bangus in Mindanao.

With only three years in existence, the Panabo Bangus have reached as far as Mati and General Santos City. According to National Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Panabo bangus is the tastiest bangus that he has encountered in the Philippines.

This bangus has been bred in more than 200 fish cages spread out in the 1,075-hectare Panabo Mariculture Park.

Only Last April of 2009, the Mariculture Park produced a total of 154 metric tons of bangus in one month alone.

Since then, it has surprisingly progressed beyond expectations as an investment priority area in the city, attracting not only local investors from Davao to General Santos, but even investors from Taiwan.

It is now the thrust of City Mayor, Atty Jose L. Silvosa, Sr., to establish Panabo City as the Bangus Capital of Mindanao, if not the Philippines.

{Panabo Gym}

Panabo is also the proud owner of the biggest indoor sports complex in the region that can accommodate around 5,000 individuals in the bleachers alone. Aside from that, the gym features a world class basketball court with wood-tiled flooring and an electronic scoring system.

The Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural and Sports Center, or better known as the Panabo Gym, is the only astrodome in the region that passed the quality standards of the Philippine Basketball Association; making Panabo City as the official provincial home of the PBA in the South.

Since 2008, the city already hosted three regular PBA conference games and is proud to have qualified as one of the sites for the 2009 PBA All Star Week, bringing the famous and the brightest basketball stars in the Philippines.

Aside from the PBA Games, the Panabo Gym is also one of the top choices for concert venue of various national artists like Sarah Geronimo, Piolo Pascual and Sheryn Regis.

Experience the advantages, opportunities and conditions uniquely Panabo and journey to the Agri-Industrial Gateway to the World.