San Isidro, Davao del Norte
San Isidro, officially the Municipality of San Isidro and also known as Sawata, is a municipality in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,233 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.
History
San Isidro was created on June 26, 2004, after the ratification of Republic Act No. 9265. It was formed out of 6 barangays of Asuncion and 7 barangays of Kapalong.Davao del Norte 1st district representative and former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez filed House Bill No. 9452, renaming the municipality to Sawata. It passed on third and final reading by the House on August 3, 2021, and on the Senate on January 31, 2022.
On June 2, 2022, Republic Act No. 11814, the act renaming San Isidro as Sawata, as well as its municipal proper, Barangay Sawata as Poblacion, lapsed into law. A plebiscite, having no final schedule yet, will be supervised by the Commission on Elections.
The name Sawata has no valid or official records of its origin, meaning, and where it actually came from. But according to legend in the said municipality, it is because of the child that was about to be eaten by the huge snake called "Sawá," in the act that Sawa would eat the child called in Visayan "batâ." There was a man who saw the snake that was already on the child's back and preparing to eat him; thus, without hesitation, the man shouted "Ang sawá, batâ!" to "sawá, 'tâ!", meaning to say "Boy, there's a snake on your back!" And due to that, eventually the place where the snake and the child were caught was named after that incident — Sawata. In honor of the child that was believed to be eaten by the snake.
Geography
San Isidro, located in Davao del Norte, shares its borders with the municipalities of Kapalong and Asuncion. As well as to its neighboring province which is, the province of Davao de Oro, specifically the municipality of Laak.Barangays
San Isidro is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.- Dacudao
- Datu Balong
- Igangon
- Kipalili
- Libuton
- Linao
- Mamangan
- Monte Dujali
- Pinamuno
- Sabangan
- San Miguel
- Santo Niño
- Sawata