“A Livable and Resilient Island Garden City”

The Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) is a group of islands strategically situated at the heart of Davao Gulf in the Southern part of the Philippines. This fourth class component City of Davao del Norte Province is the first amalgamated City in the Philippines by virtue of RA 8471, merging the then municipalities of Babak, Samal and Kaputian on June 30, 1998. Its 30,130 hectares of land is a home to 116,771 (PSA, 2020) Samaleños spread in its 46 barangays.

It is geographically separated from mainland Mindanao, yet lies only 900 meters east of Davao City. Being the Apex of Davao Gulf, it is sheltered from typhoons and tropical depressions and the Type IV climate with rain evenly distributed over the year, thus enabling the major industries of Agriculture, Fishing, Services and Tourism to flourish.

The City embraces participatory and sustainable ways to address the challenges on Water, Power, Telecommunications, Infrastructure and Waste Management as it continuously strengthens its partnership with the National Agencies, Business Sector and Samaleño communities.

The City's good governance initiatives has earned the recognition of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Inc. being adjudged as one of the country's Most Business Friendly LGU from 2018 to 2019. Its resiliency is spelled through the implementation of the various programs that includes the National Kalasag Awardee - City Disaster Risk Reduction Programs; DSWD's Seal of Child-Friendly and DILG's Seal of Good Housekeeping, and the Civil Service Commission's PRIME-HRM Level 2 Accreditation, to name a few.