Japanese control of the pre-Commonwealth Davao was an indisputable fact. From controlling the central business district to paying the largest taxes, they provided the backbone
that kept the local economy very robust. They owned the biggest plantation estates in the district, had power over the booming transport industry, and were the biggest agricultural
employers in the region. The official records at the time supported this assertion.
The data from the office of the provincial treasurer of Davao dated Jan. 3, 1935, had forty-five (45) Japanese firms, including those that were bought from the Americans. The list was
prepared a month before the Commonwealth Constitution was approved on Feb. 8, 1935, the forty-fifth birthday of Claro M. Recto, who presided the 1934 constitutional convention and
presented the official Charter to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The roster contains the following: Ohta Development Co., Talomo, Davao City; Furukawa Plantation Co., Daliao, Davao City; Marasuki Konoha & Co., Sirawan, Davao City; Takagi
Farming Co., Bunawan, Davao City; Catalunan Agriculture Co., Catalunan Grande, Davao City; Davao Commercial Co., Bolton Street, Davao City; North Talomo Plant Co., Catalunan Grande,
Davao City; Akamine Bros. Plantation Co., Bunawan, Davao City; Sirawan Plantation Co., Sirawan, Davao City; Bunawan Plantation Co., Bunawan, Davao City; Twain River Plantation Co., Guianga, Davao City; Mindanao Reclamation Co., Tungkalan, Guianga, Davao City; Riverside Plantation Co., Malagos, Guianga, Davao City; Talomo River Plantation Co., Biao, Guianga, Davao City; Biao Plantation Co., Biao, Guianga, Davao City; Dalia Plantation Co., Tagluno, Guianga, Davao City; Takunan Plantation Co., Biao, Guianga, Davao City; Bayabas Plantation Co., Bayabas, Guianga, Davao City; Mulig Grains & Trading Co., Bancas, Guianga, Davao City; Tagurano Plantation Co., Bayabas, Guianga, Davao City; South Mindanao Development Co., Tugbok, Davao City; Bato Plantation Co., Bato, Guianga, Davao City; Tagluno River Plantation, Co., Tagluno, Guianga, Davao City; Piso Coconut & Cattle Ranch, Lupon, Davao Oriental; Southern Cross Plantation Co., Pantukan, Davao de Oro; Davao Trading & Farm Co., Sigaboy, Davao Oriental; Tagum Plantation Co., Tagum City; Nanyo Plantation Co., Lasang, Davao City; Tuganay Plantation Co., Tuganay,
Carmen, Davao del Norte; Matsuoka Development Co., Tagum City; Panavo Plantation Co., Lasang, Davao City; Hijo Plantation Co., Hijo, Tagum City; Southern Davao Development Co., Lasang, Davao City; Pangi Plantation Co., Pangi, Davao City; Dumlan Plantation Co., Dumlan, Tagum City; Lahi River Plantation Co., Magnaga, Pantukan, Davao de Oro; Pindasan Plantation Co., Pindasan, Mabini,
Davao de Oro; Mintal Plantation Co., Mintal-Ula, Guianga, Davao City; Mindanao Agri. Com. Co., Ilam, Guianga, Davao City; Manambulan Development Co., Manambulan, Guianga, Davao City; Gui Hing Plantation Co., Hagonoy, Davao del Sur; Itakara Plantation Co., Hagonoy, Davao del Sur; Lasang Plantation Co., Lasang, Davao City; and Guianga Plantation Co., Biao, Guianga, Davao City.
Those that were acquired from the Americans were Piso Coconut & Cattle Ranch, Southern Cross Plantation Co., Davao Trading & Farm Co., Lahi River Plantation Co., and Gui Hing
Plantation Co.
The control of the Davao economy, however, was shaken when the Japanese landholdings became an explosive issue in the 1934 Constitutional Convention. Davao delegate Pantaleon Pelayo Sr., in a privileged speech delivered on Sept. 22, 1934, accused the Japanese and their benefactors of corruption behind the leases. When the Charter was ultimately approved, the agrarian issue would become a jarring challenge confronting the Commonwealth government.
