Cateel

Cateel ([kɐtiʔil]), officially the Municipality of Cateel (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Cateel; Tagalog: Bayan ng Cateel), is a municipality in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,207 people.^[4]

Cateel
Municipality
Municipality of Cateel
Aliwagwag Falls
Flag Seal
Map of Davao Oriental with Cateel highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Cateel Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°47′24″N 126°27′11″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Davao Region
Province	Davao Oriental
District	1st district
Established	October 29, 1903[1]
Barangays	16 (see Barangays)
Government  [2]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Erlinda C. Nuñez
• Vice Mayor	Camilo T. Nuñez
• Representative	Corazon N. Malanyaon
• Municipal Council	Members Patrocenio I. Veroy Anna Cheryl N. Castro Alderito A. Silverio Michael D. Rosalia Isidro S. Castro Wilbur Y. Chua Brillo P. Quibo Nemesio C. Magno III
• Electorate	33,776 voters (2025)
Area [3]
• Total	545.56 km2 (210.64 sq mi)
Elevation	233 m (764 ft)
Highest elevation	2,484 m (8,150 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[4]
• Total	44,207
• Density	81/km2 (210/sq mi)
• Households	10,902
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	30.58 % (2021)[5]
• Revenue	₱ 306.9 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 397.2 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 256.6 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 163.2 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (DORECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	8205
PSGC	1102505000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)87
Native languages	Davawenyo Surigaonon Cebuano Kalagan Kamayo Mandaya
Website	www.cateel.gov.ph

Cateel is the home of the Aliwagwag Falls, located at barangay Aliwagwag within the Aliwagwag Protected Landscape. It is a towering stream of waterfalls considered by hydraulic engineers as the highest in the country and regarded as one of the most beautiful falls in the Philippines. It is a series of 84 falls appearing like a stairway to heaven with various heights among the steps ranging from 2 to 33.5 metres (7 to 110 ft). One step is measured 22 metres (72 ft) and another is 20 metres (66 ft). Overall Aliwagwag Falls has a height of 340 metres (1,120 ft) and a width of 20 metres (66 ft). All these in the midst of a virgin forest, a river settles at the foot of the falls with 13 rapids to cross.

History

Aftermath of Typhoon Bopha in Cateel, December 2012

Cateel is the first municipality in Mindanao. It was the place where Spaniards first docked in Mindanao which reflects how majority of its primary inhabitants converted to Catholicism.

In 1959, Mainit and Alegria were converted into barrios.^[6]

The municipality was one of the hardest-hit towns of Typhoon Bopha when it crossed the town on December 3, 2012.^[7]

Geography

Climate

Cateel has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round with extremely heavy rainfall in December and January.

Climate data for Caraga
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29.7 (85.5)	29.9 (85.8)	30.7 (87.3)	31.6 (88.9)	31.8 (89.2)	31.6 (88.9)	31.5 (88.7)	31.8 (89.2)	32.0 (89.6)	31.7 (89.1)	31.3 (88.3)	30.4 (86.7)	31.2 (88.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	25.7 (78.3)	25.9 (78.6)	26.3 (79.3)	27.1 (80.8)	27.4 (81.3)	27.2 (81.0)	27.0 (80.6)	27.2 (81.0)	27.3 (81.1)	27.1 (80.8)	26.9 (80.4)	26.3 (79.3)	26.8 (80.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21.8 (71.2)	21.9 (71.4)	22.0 (71.6)	22.6 (72.7)	23.0 (73.4)	22.8 (73.0)	22.5 (72.5)	22.6 (72.7)	22.6 (72.7)	22.6 (72.7)	22.5 (72.5)	22.2 (72.0)	22.4 (72.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	794 (31.3)	581 (22.9)	532 (20.9)	344 (13.5)	233 (9.2)	113 (4.4)	110 (4.3)	92 (3.6)	92 (3.6)	182 (7.2)	300 (11.8)	675 (26.6)	4,048 (159.3)
Source: Climate-Data.org[8]

Barangays

Cateel is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Abihod
• Alegria
• Aliwagwag
• Aragon
• Baybay
• Maglahus
• Mainit
• Malibago
• San Alfonso
• San Antonio
• San Miguel
• San Rafael
• San Vicente
• Santa Filomena
• Taytayan
• Poblacion

Demographics

Population census of Cateel

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	4,101	—
1918	5,906	+2.46%
1939	9,243	+2.16%
1948	10,671	+1.61%
1960	14,586	+2.64%
1970	14,633	+0.03%
1975	15,849	+1.61%
1980	20,084	+4.85%
1990	26,144	+2.67%
1995	27,211	+0.75%
2000	28,655	+1.11%
2007	33,109	+2.01%
2010	38,579	+5.72%
2015	40,704	+1.03%
2020	44,207	+1.64%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Cateel

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 42.29 2003 39.32 2006 23.10 2009 53.49 2012 28.83 2015 30.61 2018 32.70 2021 30.58 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]