BRIEF HISTORY
The early inhabitants of the Davao provinces, particularly the area now called the province of Davao del Sur, were the Bagobo-Guianggas who occupied the places at the foot of Mt. Apo, the B’laans of Hagonoy Valley, the Manobos in Malita and Jose Abad Santos, and other primeval tribes. These aboriginal tribes are believed to belong to the second wave of Indonesians who came to the island from Southeast Asia years before the birth of Christ, probably between 1,000 and 2,500 years ago.
Davao del Sur was created by the defunct Congress on May 8, 1967 under Republic Act No. 4867. It started functioning as a province on July 1, 1967 comprising ten municipalities, with Digos as its capital. The elective provincial positions were filled by appointment by the President of the Philippines until officials were duly elected and qualified in the 1967 election.
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Davao del Sur is located in the southern part of
the Philippines. It lies between 125° 5’ and 42’
longitude and 5°22’ and 6°58’39’’ latitude.
Situated in the southern tip of
Mindanao, Davao del Sur is
bounded by Davao City
on the north; the
provinces of North
Cotabato, South
Cotabato and
Sarangani
on the west;
Celebes Sea on the south
and Davao Gulf on the east.
Strategically, the province is located between two (2) major growth centers: General Santos City of Region XII and Davao City of Region XI.
LAND AREA
Davao del Sur occupies a total land area of 3,934 square kilometers. This represents 20 percent of the total land area of Region XI (Davao Region).
