Home Asian Countries Philippines Subangan Museum : The Davao Oriental’s Pride

Subangan Museum : The Davao Oriental’s Pride

Subangan Museum is intended to be an income-generating project to keep it sustainable. It is open daily (Monday to Sunday) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance fee is P100 for foreign nationals, P50 for locals, P30 for residents, P20 for senior citizens and students outside Davao Oriental and P10 for students and children within Davao Oriental.

A 53-feet long and weighing 20 metric tons (live weight) sperm whale skeleton will greet you as you enter the door of Davao Oriental’s Subangan Museum. Davor, as what it is called is the 7th largest in world exhibits and was found in the shore of San Isidro and Governor Generoso towns and chose as its final resting place in year 2010.

Subangan5 The Natural Heritage

According to the website of the World Heritage Convention, the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary belongs to the 15 biogeographic zones in the Philippines. It is considered to have the highest land-based biological diversity . It is now nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for its “outstanding universal significance.”

The displayed model of Mt. Hamiguitan offers the beautiful fauna and flora( such as the pitcher plants) and you can take pictures of yourself like you are climbing the mountain.

The sound effects of waterfalls flows, the forest that can be touched, and even the glass-covered tadpoles and ants presentations will surely make you feel you are experiencing the natural heritage of the place.

Next stop to this section is the cave with complete landscapes of stalactites and stalagmites and even inhabitants of the caves.

Numerous of beautiful and rich coastal environment of Davao Oriental are also displayed in tarpaulin. You can see the different hues of blue and green of its oceans and seas covered the beaches with   white sands. These beaches are now developed into resorts and you can really say investors are trusting the beauty of Davao Oriental.

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The Products

Davao Oriental is represented in the Trade and Industry and Governance section, where the province’s industrial activities and investment opportunities are displayed.

Given this abundance of heritage in one place, Subangan, which means “a place where the sun rises”, attains a different meaning — where the heart of Davao Oriental beats.

The museum displayed their coconut products and abaca-made bags and mats. In this section, they also have real minerals of gold, copper, magnesium and other stones.

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The People and Their Music

There is a section of the museum intended to presents the prominent tribal groups of Davao Oriental, the Mandaya and Kaagan/Kalagan. Here, the woven cloth “dagmay” is displayed along with the baskets that they also weave. Weapons of war and tools for everyday life are also shown. They also preserved different musical instruments of the indigenous people and played music along as its background while you are exploring the section.

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Settlers here also commemorate the Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) as the strongest tropical cyclone ever hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on December 3, 2012. This typhoon did not only destroy lives and properties but it helped the province (as well as the nation) completes the picture of unity and love to the typhoon victims and brought everyone countless volunteers and relief efforts.

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How to get there

From Davao City, Mati City in Davao Oriental is accessible via a 3-hour private car ride (or by public utility bus with rate of Php 200-220.00) or van ride (wih rate of Php 230-250.00) on a fully concreted highway. It is located at the Tourism Complex, City of Mati, Davao Oriental. You can also contact Ms. Lyrna Padohinog or Ms. Amy Ponce at mobile numbers 0998-977-2935 or 0926-836-2345 respectively; or email them at subangan@yahoo.com

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/// Written by Sheena Lou Alagao, The Philippines