by Lovely A. Carillo
Timog Dabaw or Davao del Sur is one of the resulting independent provinces when the original Davao Province was divided into three in 1967. If you live near the area, you probably frequent its capital city of Digos, considered a crossroad to Davao City, and the provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani and North Cotabato.
The province has a total land area of 5,164 square kilometers, occupying 20 percent of the total land area of the region. What keeps it a melting pot of culture and economics is its location, sandwiched between two major growth centers–Davao City and General Santos City.
While it is Digos City which is mainly associated with the province of Davao del Sur, it is also made up of the municipalities of Bansalan, Don marcelino, Hagonoy, Kiblawan, Jose Abad Santos,, Malalag, Magsaysay, Malita, Matanao, Padada, Sta. Cruz, Santa Maria, Sarangani and Sulop.
Despite its accessibility and proximity to the economic centers in the region, two of the municipalities in the province—Jose Abad Santos and Sarangani—are among those identified by studies as municipalities with a poverty incidence of more than 50 percent
The province has a population of 758,801, with a poverty incidence of 18.2%. Davao del Sur is basically an agricultural region with coconut as its primary crop. Other major products include rice, sugarcane, cacao, coffee; minerals like copper, lead and gold.
Davao del Sur’s fertile land is a competitive advantage and the local government is bent on protecting this resource. Only recently, Governor Douglas Cagas raised a howl over plans to dump toxic waste and mine tailings into the province. The outburst from the governor came after the withdrawal of various World Bank-funded development projects in the Malalag and Padada areas due to the plan.
Despite the problems it is facing, the local government of Davao del Sur is slowly gaining ground to conquer some of them. Take for example the peace and order situation in the province. Pretty soon, former Moro National Liberation Front combatants will become the next enterprising army of the province.
Former MNLF members completed a training program on processed milkfish and sandals making, as provided by the Action for Conflict Transformation and the Department of Science and Technology.
The municipality of Sta. Cruz is not only the oldest town in the province, but it is also known as an investor’s haven being the location of various businesses like Franklin Baker, Co., Coco Davao, Inc., San Miguel Corporation and GSL Food Industries among others.
The municipalities of Jose Abad Santos and Sarangani in Davao del Sur are preparing for more active trading ties with Indonesia, as part of the JAGS-CT (Jose Abad Santos, Glan, Sarangani-Cooperation Triangle) and Tahuna sisterhood agreement.
Just recently, the MV Sunlia, an Indonesian vessel carrying traders and various products, made another voyage to Glan to keep the economic ties between the areas growing.
