Digos City

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Digos City is a 3rd class city in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. It is the capital city of Davao del Sur. The city lies on the eastern shores of Davao Gulf on the island of Mindanao. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 125,171 people in 26,306 households.

In 2000, Digos was converted into a city.^[1]

1 Facts and figures
2 History
3 Commerce and industry
4 Places and events
5 Barangays
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Facts and figures

Land area :287.1 km².
Total population (As of May 2000) : 125,171
Number of households : 29,450
Population density : 486/km².
Number of barangays : 26
Actual revenue (2003) : PhP 490,861,368.26
Location : Southern foothills of Mt. Apo

[edit] History

In the early days, Digos was a watercourse, a meeting place of inhabitants belonging to the Austronesians settled along the southern foothills of Mt. Apo. The Digos River meets the Davao Gulf and it is ideal for fishing and bathing.

During the Spanish Era, a group of natives carrying bows and arrows were approached by some Spaniards traversing the very fertile tracks of land in Davao. One Lopez Jaena Pacheco, a conquistador during the administration of Governor Claveria serving as the head of the group, inquired about the name of the place from the barefooted natives. Believing that the Spaniards were asking where they were bound to, the natives answered "Padigos", which means "to take a bathe". Since then the place was identified as Digos.

As a portion of the "food bowl" of the province of Davao del Sur, otherwise known as the Padada Valley, Digos 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 1,024 hectares and transformed the place into an Abaca Plantation. This became the hub of economic activity in the locality during those days.

Through the initiation of then Congressman Apolinario Cabigon, Digos, became a regular municipality in 1949 by virtue of Presidential Executive Order No. 236, dated July 19, 1949 issued by President Quirino. Its Coverage included the barrios of Tres de Mayo, Goma Bansalan, Matanao, Darapuay and the Poblacion where the seat of government was located. Before its creation into a municipality, Digos was a barrio of Sta. cruz, a town 16 kilometers away. On 19 July 1949, the town was formally inaugurated with Benito Rabor appointed as Mayor.

Digos in later years, before its conversion into a city, was regarded as the capital town of the Province of Davao del Sur, long before it gained the status of a First Class Municipality in 1993, being center for trade, commerce and education, accruing to its strategic location at the cross point of two principal thoroughfares in the south.

In July 1998, the bid to convert into a city was moved and initiated by Hon. Mayor Arsenio A. Latasa, considering its very satisfactory qualificationas required for in R.A. 7160

House Bill No. 5672 dated November 24, 1998 of Congress authored by Hon. Congressman Douglas Ra. Cagas, led to the drafting of Republic Act 8798, converting the Municipality of Digos into a component City of Davao del Sur, which was signed by President Joseph E. Estrada on July 14, 2000 and ratified by the Digoseños on September 8, 2000.

Digos will enter the new era of development in the new millennium.

Digos city has a school named as Digos City National High School. Its former name was Davao del Sur National High School. In this school, it is said that they train the best students in their Special Science Curriculum (Network).

Another school in Digos City which is popularly known is the Polytechnic College of Davao del Sur (PCDS) located at Mc Athur Highway, formerly located at Estrada St. The graduates from PCDS are trained well; especially nurses since the school administration knows the students' needs and runs the school properly.

[edit] Commerce and industry

There are several rural, commercial, government banks in the city namely:

Landbank of the Philippines (Rizal Avenue) (with ATM)
Equitable PCI Bank (Rizal Avenue)
Metropolitan and Trust Bank (Metrobank) (Estrada Street) (with ATM, Cirrus Maestro)
Bank of the Philppine Islands (Rizal Avenue) (with ATM, Cirrus Maestro)
Development Bank of the Philippines (Quezon Avenue) (with ATM)
Philippine National Bank (Quezon Avenue) (with ATM)
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (Rizal Avenue) (with ATM)
One Network Bank (Rizal Avenue) (with ATM)
Rural Bank of Digos (Rizal Avenue)
Rural Bank of Subang Daku (Estrada Street)
Rural Bank Of Tagum (Luna Street)
Cooperative Bank of Davao del Sur (Luna Street)
Peninsula Bank (PenBank) (Luna Street)
Bank of Koronadal (Luna Street)

Pawnshops, lenders and financial institutions are largely present in the city.

The only notable industrial corporation in the city is the Nakayama Technology Corporation [1]. It has a tile plant and a computer graphics center [2]. It is a Japanese owned company.

Other industries are also operating in the city in small and medium scale.