 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Malita" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Malita
| |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Malita | |
Hilltop view of Malita
| |
Flag 
Seal | |
Nicknames:
| |
| Motto:
Angat Malita!
| |
Map of Davao Occidental with Malita highlighted
| |
OpenStreetMap  | |
  Malita Location within the Philippines | |
| Coordinates: 6°24′39″N 125°36′52″E / 6.41083°N 125.61444°E / 6.41083; 125.61444 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Davao Region |
| Province | Davao Occidental |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded | November 17, 1937 |
| Barangays | 30 (see Barangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Bradly L. Bautista |
| • Vice Mayor | Estefanie B. Dumama |
| • Representative | Lorna Bautista-Bandigan |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 69,059 voters (2022) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 883.37 km2 (341.07 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 197 m (646 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,786 m (5,860 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population
(2020 census)[3]
| |
| • Total | 118,197 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (350/sq mi) |
| • Households | 29,489 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence |
|
| • Revenue | ₱ 579.1 million (2020) |
| • Assets | ₱ 1,463 million (2020) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 496.5 million (2020) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 721.1 million (2020) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (DASURECO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code |
8012
|
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)82 |
| Native languages | Davawenyo Cebuano Kalagan Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Malita, officially the Municipality of Malita (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Malita; Filipino: Bayan ng Malita), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the provinceofDavao Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 118,197 people.[3]
Malita is known for various cultural arts and heritage of its people and tribes. Gaginaway Festival is celebrated annually every full moon on the month of November and Araw ng Malita is also celebrated annually on November 17.
Malita is the first municipality established in what is now Davao Occidental. However, its existence dates back scores of years before its formal creation as municipality on November 17, 1936. The Tagakolu, Blaan and Manobo communities have been living in the area before the arrival of the Spaniards. In 1887, Pablo Pastells, a Jesuit missionary, mentions Malita along with Malalag and Lais, as areas where a total of almost 7,000 Tagakolu resided.[5]
Records show that Malita must have existed long before the passage of the Philippine Commission Act, the Laws of the Moro Province that mentioned Malita in Section 1 of Act No. 164 dated December 10, 1904. Through the said Act it is presumed that it existed as a barrioofSanta Cruz long before the coming of the Americans to Davao. Executive Order No. 64, s. 1936[6] issued by President Manuel L. Quezon officially created Malita into a municipality. Marcelino Maruya, from whom the town of Don Marcelino was named after, was the first appointed municipal mayor.
Waves of migrants from the Visayan islands, most of whom hail from Cebu, came on what is now Malita during the American colonial period. They were later followed by immigrants from Luzon. Even after the destruction brought by World War II by the belligerents, there are still waves of migrants towards Malita and other parts of then-Davao province.
| Climate data for Malita, Davao Occidental | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
24 (74) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) |
29 (1.1) |
37 (1.5) |
45 (1.8) |
102 (4.0) |
166 (6.5) |
179 (7.0) |
176 (6.9) |
157 (6.2) |
133 (5.2) |
86 (3.4) |
46 (1.8) |
1,194 (46.9) |
| Average rainy days | 8.1 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 11.1 | 22.1 | 26.1 | 26.7 | 26.5 | 25.6 | 25.5 | 19.5 | 11.7 | 218.8 |
| Source: Meteoblue[7] | |||||||||||||
Malita is subdivided into 30 barangays:[8] Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 17,050 | — |
| 1939 | 30,775 | +2.85% |
| 1948 | 27,744 | −1.15% |
| 1960 | 28,228 | +0.14% |
| 1970 | 46,060 | +5.01% |
| 1975 | 64,898 | +7.12% |
| 1980 | 60,638 | −1.35% |
| 1990 | 82,786 | +3.16% |
| 1995 | 83,457 | +0.15% |
| 2000 | 100,000 | +3.95% |
| 2007 | 106,135 | +0.82% |
| 2010 | 109,568 | +1.17% |
| 2015 | 117,746 | +1.38% |
| 2020 | 118,197 | +0.08% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12] | ||
Poverty incidence of Malita
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2006
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] |
The municipality is the main economic center of Davao Occidental province. Agriculture and fishery are primary economic drivers of the municipality.[5] There is also a fledgling tourism industry, focused on snorkeling and water activities.[21] The energy sector also contributes to the municipality's economy. The Malita Power Plant, opened in 2018, is a 300-megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant developed by San Miguel Global Power.[22]
As the town is quite far from other urban centers such as Digos, Davao City and General Santos, Malita is now developing as an urban center of its own, evident in its population, the biggest amongst the municipalities of Davao Occidental. It is now home to hospitals, colleges, banks and shopping centers. As economic activity in the town continues its rapid growth, Malita will soon become the province's first component city in a few years.
Municipal officials (2013-2016):
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Places adjacent to Malita
| |
|---|---|
 Province of Davao Occidental | |
|---|---|
Malita (capital and largest municipality) | |
| Municipalities |
|
