Davao del Sur

Davao del Sur
—  Province  —
Flag Seal
Map of the Philippines with Davao del Sur highlighted
Coordinates: 6°20′N 125°30′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Davao Region (Region XI)
Founded	May 8, 1967
Capital	Digos City
Government
• Governor	Douglas Ra. Cagas (Nacionalista)
• Vice Governor	Arsenio Latasa (NPC)
Area
• Total	4,223.45 km2 (1,630.68 sq mi)
Area rank	31st out of 80
Population (2010 LGPMS Census)
• Total	876,664 including independent cities: 2,340,965
• Rank	26th out of 80 including independent cities: 6
• Density	198.2/km2 (513/sq mi)
• Density rank	39th out of 80
Divisions
• Independent cities	1
• Component cities	1
• Municipalities	14
• Barangays	337 including independent cities: 519
• Districts	1st and 2nd districts of Davao del Sur including independent cities:
Time zone	PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code
Spoken languages	Davaoeño, Tagalog, Bagobo, Mansakan

Davao del Sur (Filipino:Timog Dabaw) 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. It also shares a water border with the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi to the south.

History

The beginnings of both Davao Region and Davao del Sur was associated with that of the foundation of Davao, which is the first town to be founded South of the island of Mindanao in 1848, following the conquest of the area by Don Jose Uyanguren of Guipuzcoa, Spain. In 1849, Nueva Guipuzcoa province was founded in the region conquered by Don Uyanguren in what is now Davao Region, with Davao, then called Nueva Vergara, as the provincial capital. Don Uyanguren, then the provincial governadorcillo, made some efforts to develop the areas he conquered, although he failed.

Just thirty-six years after the foundation of Davao, the town of Sta. Cruz was founded on the 5th day of October, 1884. It is the first town to be founded South of Davao and is the oldest in the province.

In 1898, the Spanish administration in the Philippines ended in 1898 following its defeat during the Spanish-American War. In early 1900s, waves of immigrants from the Visayas, Luzon, and as well as from Japan began to live in the region, centered mainly in Davao. The region began to boom in economic growth as agricultural business proliferated in the region.

As part of the "food bowl" of what is now the province of Davao del Sur, otherwise known as the Padada Valley, the agricultural area south of the town of Sta. Cruz, which is known as Digos that time, lured many migrants, majority of whom came from the Visayas and Ilocos regions to settle permanently in the area. Before World War II, an enterprising American by the name of N.E. Crumb leased 10.24 km² and transformed the place into an Abaca Plantation. This became the hub of economic activity in the locality during those days.

In 1942, founded by occupation of the Japanese soldiers landed and entering in the province of Southern Davao.

In 1945, the liberation in Southern Davao by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth troops was supported by the Davaoeño guerrilla fighters against the Japanese forces beginning to fighting in the Second World War.

In 1967, Davao Province was divided into three(3) provinces, one of them is Davao del Sur; the town of Digos was made its capital town and will be converted into city for the next 33 years.

Geography and topography

Located in the southeastern corner of the country's southernmost island of Mindanao, the province of Davao del Sur in the north to Sarangani Island in the south. It is bounded by the province of Davao del Norte to the north; the Celebes Sea to the south; North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato to the west ; and Davao Gulf to the east. With a land area of 6,377.6 km²., the province is composed of sandy beaches and outlying islands; agricultural plains and valleys; rainforests; swamps; rolling hills and mountains including the Philippines' highest peak, Mt. Apo (3,144 meters).

Davao del Sur enjoys a mild, pleasant climate all year round. Because of its topographical characteristics and geographical location, it is rarely visited by typhoons. There is no pronounced wet or dry season. The coolest months are from November to February with an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. during the peak summer months from March to May, temperatures average 28 degrees Celsius but may rise as high as 32 degrees.

People

Davao del Sur is an ethnic mix of Mindanaoans, Visayans, Tagalogs, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish with a number of indigenous tribes scattered in more than 2,300,000 inhabitants spread across a vast 244,000-hectare land. Davaoeño, a variant of Cebuano, is the main and official language of the province, although English and Filipino are widely spoken. It is the third largest city in the Philippines according to population.

Ata people live in some areas of Davao City all the way to Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Bukidnon. They are related to the Manobos of Cotabato and include sub-groups such as the Talaingod of the Kapalong forests in Davao del Norte and the Matigsalug. Numbering about 222,000, Ata men wear long-sleeved shirts, carry spears, hunt, log and grow crops. Their womenfolk wear native blouses, "malong" skirts and accessories of brass bracelets and bead necklaces. Mandaya and Mansaka are culturally related groups who are highly musical - playing the five string bamboo guitar, two-string lute, violin, flute, gong, drum and bamboo Jew's harp. They are also excellent silversmiths crafting breastplates, jewellery, daggers and knives. The Mandayas are famous for their colorful abaca fiber weaves embroidered with tribal motifs.

In both groups, women generally wear handwoven abaca tube skirts, embroidered blue cotton tops and heavy jewellery. Men sport wide blue or white fringed and embroidered trousers and a loose shirt. Red is a color only for a headman ("bagani") and for women of high status.

Bagobos live in an area that extends from Davao del Sur and South Cotabato to the foot of Mt. Apo and Davao City all the way to the land bordered by the Davao and Pulangi rivers and up to northern Cotobato and southeast Bukidnon. Numbering about 80,000, their traditional costume is woven from abaca fiber and heavily ornamented with beads, shells, metal discs, embroidery and brightly colored geometric applique. Though Bagobos have the most stunning costumes among the Davao ethnic groups, they wear them only on special occasions. Like the Mandayas and Mansakas, they shave their eyebrows to a thin line and file and blacken their teeth. Bagobo smiths cast little bells which are attached to pouches, bracelets, jackets, anklets and inlaid metal boxes.

Tagacaolos number about 23,000 and occupy the area between the western shores of the gulf and the slopes of Mt. Apo. This is one of the tribes which resisted Muslim conversion and maintained a highland animistic culture.

Kalagans are a Muslim group related to the Tagacaolos. Numbering only about 7,000, they live along the shores of the Davao Gulf.

Mangguangans are now only 3,000. They can be found in Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte.

Art and culture

The colorful artistic heritage of Davao stems from the rich culture of its tribes. For the Bagobos, aesthetics is the meticulous carving of weapons; the elaborate decoration of inlaid metal boxes with bells; and the ornamentation of their abaca fiber dress with embroidery, shells, beads and metal discs. The Mandayas, on the other hand, have a solid tradition in weaving. To produce their famed coarse textured cloth, abaca fiber is colored with earth dyes and woven on a backstrap loom.

The final product is embroidered with bright-colored threads in geometric patterns. Some elements of tribal folklore are also included in the designs. The Mansakas, together with the Mandayas, are also expert silversmiths. They craft weapons, breastplates and dress accessories. Davao is also a harmonious blend of Christian and Muslim cultures. However, its most stunning cultural aspect is definitely its ethnic art which encompasses music, dance, religious ritual, dress and ornamentation.

Climate

Climate data for Davao del Sur, Philippines
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	42 (108)	38 (101)	39 (102)	38 (100)	37 (99)	43 (109)	38 (101)	39 (102)	39 (103)	38 (100)	34 (93)	38 (100)	43 (109)
Average high °C (°F)	30 (86)	31 (87)	31 (88)	32 (90)	32 (89)	31 (87)	31 (87)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (87)	31 (88)
Average low °C (°F)	23 (74)	23 (74)	24 (75)	24 (76)	24 (76)	24 (76)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)
Record low °C (°F)	19 (66)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (71)	21 (70)	21 (70)	22 (71)	22 (72)	21 (69)	19 (66)
Source: Weatherbase

Political

Davao del Sur is subdivided into 14 municipalities and 2 cities: 1 independent city and 1 component city. Even though Davao City is part of the province for some statistical purposes, is governed independently from the province.

External links

City/Town	Income Classification	Population as of 2010	No. of Barangays	Founded
Davao City	Highly urbanized	1,530,365	182	Town, 1848 City, March 16, 1936
Digos City	1st class	149,891	26	Town, July 19, 1949 City, September 8, 2000
Santa Cruz	1st class	81,093	18	October 5, 1884
Bansalan	1st class	56,496	25	September 18, 1952
Matanao	2nd class	51,382	33	1957
Magsaysay	2nd class	49,141	22
Hagonoy	2nd class	49,107	22
Padada	3rd class	25,724	17	July 15, 1949
Kiblawan	2nd class	44,618	30
Malalag	1st class	35,295	15	July 2, 1953
Sta. Maria	2nd Class	49,349	22
Malita	1st Class	109,568	30	Took effect on January 1, 1937 under the power of Executive Order No. 64
Don Mar	3rd Class	33,403	15
Trinidad/JAS	1st Class	69,631	26
Sarangani	5th class	20,394	12
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