- Monkayo is a first class municipality in the province of Compostela Valley, Philippines.
- It has 21 barangays, with Mt. Diwata having the biggest population of 18,072 people.
- The Municipality of Monkayo is a political unit with a land area that was once and for a long period of time a wilderness in the Northern hinterlands of Compostela Valley but today, it is an agricultural town, with vast tracts of land planted to rice and banana.
- The municipality is also host to the gold-rich barangay of Mt. Diwata, popularly known as "Diwalwal" (which in the local dialect means one's tongue is hanging out due to exhaustion), a 1,000-meter high range known for its rich gold ore deposit.
- Monkayo's seat of government is located in Barangay Poblacion, a highly developed rural town center, and is 120 kilometres (75 mi) away from Mindanao's regional center of Davao City, and some 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Nabunturan, the provincial center.
- There are two (2) versions of the origin of the name of Monkayo.
- The name “Monkayo” is derived from a gigantic tree towering on top Tandawan mountains and its northern tip in between and immediately adjacent to the Agusan River. The tree is called “Mondabon Kayo” (Mondabon Tree). It was however shortened by the first settlers of the area as “Monkayo”.
- In the other related version, it is believed that a certain Fr. Ladour, the first missionary priest assigned in the area, gave the place the name of Moncayo, a snow-topped mountain dividing the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, in Spain, probably as an analogy to the high mountains in the area that reminded him of his own place of birth.
- Monkayo belonged to the northern hinterland of what is now called Compostela Valley and it was occupied by Mandaya, Manobo, Mansaka, Manguangan and Dibabawon people who dwelt on primitive life and lived by hunting, fishing and crude method of farming (Kaingin) long before the Spanish conquistadors penetrated deep in Mindanao in the middle part of the 18th century. These different tribes or groups, each had a bagani as head or chief. They wore clothing and armed with bladed weapons and bows and arrows, they sang hymns called Tudom and long narrative songs called Owaging they danced and held rituals, feasted and chewed beetle nuts. Nevertheless, when Spanish missionaries came, these natives changed their lives and attitudes and eventually receptive to Christian teachings and ultimately embraced Christianity. Today, this municipality still has Mandaya, Dibabawon, Manguangan and Manobo, other tribes have transferred to other places.
- In 1918, Monkayo was proclaimed a Municipal District and the position given to the highest official was District President with Adolfo Mongado, the first Mandayan educator who served from 1917-1925 and the first one appointed to the position of District President.
- Monkayo became a part of Compostela in 1948.
- During the Second World War, Monkayo was made an important military outpost. The 81st Military Division under the command of Col. Kangleon was established in the Poblacion and was named Camp Kalaw.
- On 4 September 1954, Monkayo became a separate district and founded as a Municipality by virtue of a Presidential Executive Order No. 65 by the late President Ramon Magsaysay of the Republic of the Philippines and the first mayor was Angelo Ortiz (Sept. 1954–Oct. 1955), who also was responsible for making Monkayo an independent municipality.
- PROCLAMATION NO. 857 DECLARING THURSDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MONKAYO, PROVINCE OF COMPOSTELA VALLEY.
References:
Welcome to Monkayo
AboutMonkayo, Compostela Valley
Proclamation No. 857, s. 2014
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