Kapalong

Kapalong, officially the Municipality of Kapalong (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Kapalong; Tagalog: Bayan ng Kapalong), is a municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 81,068 people.^[5]

Kapalong
Municipality
Municipality of Kapalong
Flag
Map of Davao del Norte with Kapalong highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Kapalong Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°35′08″N 125°42′19″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Davao Region
Province	Davao del Norte
District	1st district
Founded	July 8, 1948
Barangays	14 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Maria Theresa R. Timbol
• Vice Mayor	Edgardo L. Timbol
• Representative	De Carlo "Oyo" Uy
• Municipal Council	Members Thacher C. Jara Joevin P. Doriman Eduardo A. Domat-ol Edilberto C. Febria Sr. Baltazar R. Solis Jr. Jonathan P. Pineda Sr. Robert T. Caminero Romel J. Beldua
• Electorate	52,281 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	830.01 km2 (320.47 sq mi)
Elevation	24 m (79 ft)
Highest elevation	52 m (171 ft)
Lowest elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	80,731
• Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
• Households	19,041
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	12.24 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 624.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 1,059 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 471.9 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 318 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	8113
PSGC	1102305000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)84
Native languages	Davawenyo Cebuano Ata Manobo Kalagan Tagalog
Website	www.kapalong.gov.ph

History

Through Executive Order No. 151 signed by President Elpidio Quirino, the town was founded on July 8, 1948,^[6] from the Municipal District of Tagum, which was formed in 1918. It was one of the oldest towns in Davao del Norte Province, others being Tagum, in 1941; and Panabo, in 1949, both of which were converted into cities almost 50 years later. Though the towns of Santo Tomas, Talaingod and portion of San Isidro emerged from Kapalong in 1959, 1991, and 2004 respectively, it is still the largest town by land area in the province of Davao del Norte.

Geography

All but one of Kapalongs barangays are located in the southern part of the municipality near the Kapalong-Talaingod-Valencia National Highway. The much more sparsely populated north is administered under Barangay Gupitan covering a land area of 65,000 ha (650 km²) which makes it the largest barangay of the Philippines.^[7]

Climate

Climate data for Kapalong
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	63 (2.5)	50 (2.0)	35 (1.4)	22 (0.9)	47 (1.9)	68 (2.7)	51 (2.0)	53 (2.1)	49 (1.9)	47 (1.9)	39 (1.5)	38 (1.5)	562 (22.3)
Average rainy days	15.0	12.6	10.4	8.2	18.8	22.5	21.2	20.5	20.3	20.3	14.4	11.7	195.9
Source: Meteoblue[8]

Barangays

Kapalong is politically subdivided into 14 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Semong
• Florida
• Gabuyan
• Gupitan
• Capungagan
• Katipunan
• Luna
• Mabantao
• Mamacao
• Pag-asa
• Maniki (Poblacion)
• Sampao
• Sua-on
• Tiburcia

Demographics

Population census of Kapalong

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1939	5,555	—
1948	5,878	+0.63%
1960	12,067	+6.18%
1970	20,225	+5.29%
1975	33,362	+10.56%
1980	42,869	+5.14%
1990	66,030	+4.42%
1995	62,183	−1.12%
2000	68,593	+2.13%
2007	61,763	−1.44%
2010	68,261	+3.71%
2015	76,334	+2.15%
2020	81,068	+1.27%
2024	80,731	−0.10%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Kapalong

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 50.23 2003 51.23 2006 36.00 2009 21.46 2012 33.36 2015 31.19 2018 20.92 2021 12.24 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]