10th ARAW NG DIGOS CITY. Sept. 8, 2010

Aplaya Elementary School Teachers

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Lechonan sa Digos
This highlights the celebration of Araw ng Digos, Sept.8,2010 .





Land Area
: 28,710 hectares / 287.10 sq. km.

Total Population (As of May 2000)
: 125,171
Number of Households
: 29,450
Population Density
: 4.86/ha. = 486/ sq. km.
Number of Barangays
: 26

Actual Revenue (2003)
: PhP 490,861,368.26

Location
: Southern Foothills of Mt. Apo

Discovering the name "DIGOS" with History

In the early days, Digos was a watercourse, a meeting place of inhabitants belonging to the Indonesian-Malay 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 bath". Since then the place was identified as Digos.

As a portion of the "food bowl" of the province of Davao del Sur, other wise 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 Elpidio 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 the 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 qualification as 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.

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


Source:CPDC, Digos City