Metro Davao is an agglomeration of Davao City

Davao City

The City of Davao is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines....

 and four surrounding cities: Digos City

Digos City

Digos City is an affluent suburban city in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. The city strategically lies on the eastern shores of Davao Gulf and southern foothills of Mt. Apo in the island of Mindanao and it is the center city between the two major cities in Mindanao, Davao City and...

 in Davao del Sur

Davao del Sur

Davao del Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos City. The province is bordered by Davao City to the north, and Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani to the west. To the east lies the Davao Gulf...

, Tagum City

Tagum City

Tagum City is a First Class City of the 1st Congressional District of the Province of Davao del Norte, Philippines and serves as its provincial capital...

, Panabo City

Panabo City

-External links:*****...

 and the Island Garden City of Samal

Island Garden City of Samal

Island Garden City of Samal is a 2nd class city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. The name is often abbreviated into IGaCoS...

 in Davao del Norte

Davao del Norte

Davao del Norte , and once known simply as Davao, is a province of the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Tagum City. It borders the province of Agusan del Sur to the north, Bukidnon to the west, Compostela Valley to the east, and the city of Davao to the south...

. The metropolitan area also encompasses two municipalities: Carmen

Carmen, Davao del Norte

Carmen is a 1st class municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 55,144 people in 11,073 households.Carmen has a total land area of 275.16 km²...

 in Davao del Norte and Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur

Santa Cruz is a 1st class municipality in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. It has a population of 100,017 people in 21,856 households.The Municipality of Santa Cruz is now a part of Metropolitan Davao.Region XI : Davao del Sur- Geography :...

 in Davao del Sur.
It is one of twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, other big ones being Metro Cebu

Metro Cebu

Metro Cebu is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan...

 and Metro Manila

Metro Manila

Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...

. However, unlike other metropolitan areas, Metro Davao does not have a formal legal framework, such as a metropolitan development council, to stand on, existing not as a juridical entity but only as an informal reference to the area.

Component Local Government Units

Metro Davao, just like Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, is not an administrative political unit but an agglomeration of independent local government units (LGUs), the third level government in the Philippine political system.

Local government unit	Population (2000 census)	Area (km²)
Davao City Davao City The City of Davao is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines....	1,363,337	2,444 km²
Digos City Digos City Digos City is an affluent suburban city in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. The city strategically lies on the eastern shores of Davao Gulf and southern foothills of Mt. Apo in the island of Mindanao and it is the center city between the two major cities in Mindanao, Davao City and...	145,514	287.1 km²
Island Garden City of Samal Island Garden City of Samal Island Garden City of Samal is a 2nd class city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. The name is often abbreviated into IGaCoS...	90,291	301.3 km²
Panabo City Panabo City -External links:*****...	205,010	251.23 km²
Tagum City Tagum City Tagum City is a First Class City of the 1st Congressional District of the Province of Davao del Norte, Philippines and serves as its provincial capital...	256,069	192.00 km²
Carmen Carmen, Davao del Norte Carmen is a 1st class municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 55,144 people in 11,073 households.Carmen has a total land area of 275.16 km²...	55,144	275.16 km²
Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur Santa Cruz is a 1st class municipality in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. It has a population of 100,017 people in 21,856 households.The Municipality of Santa Cruz is now a part of Metropolitan Davao.Region XI : Davao del Sur- Geography :...	71,153
TOTAL Total -Mathematics:*Total, the summation of a set of numbers* Total function, a type of partial function in mathematics* Total order, a common total relation in mathematics* Total relation, a type of binary relation in mathematics-Business and enterprise:...	2,186,518

Comparative history

The agglomeration of Metro Davao has no formal legal framework early on its initial stage of development process either by an act of Congress

Congress of the Philippines

The Congress of the Philippines is the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines. It is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate , and the House of Representatives although commonly in the Philippines the term congress refers to the latter.The Senate is composed of 24 senators half...

, by an executive declaration of the President

President of the Philippines

The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...

 or by a formal agreement among component cities and municipalities of the metropolitan area.

In the case of Metro Manila, the component cities and municipalities were grouped into a province through a [decree issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...

, and designated the former first lady Imelda Marcos

Imelda Marcos

Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...

 as governess. From then on, Greater Manila, as it was known earlier, became Metro Manila.

To formalize its juridical identity, Congress passed into law Republic Act No. 7924, instituting the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority , is an agency of the Republic of the Philippines created embracing the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Malabon, Taguig, Navotas and San Juan and the...

. Under the current law, the head of the agency shall be appointed by the President and should not be on a concurrent elected position as mayor.

Metro Cebu is a concept created in the 70's and formally adopted by the Regional Development Council of Central Visayas

Central Visayas

Central Visayas, designated as Region VII, is a region of the Philippines located in the central part of the Visayas island group. It consists of four provinces—Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor— and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City....

as a platform for integrating parallel development in the metropolitan area.

Metro Davao does not have the birth perspective of either Metro Cebu or Metro Manila. The metropolitan concept of Metro Davao is being spearheaded by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City but no formal agreement or an act of congress have been executed to formalize its legal and juridical identity.