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Malita | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Malita | |
 Hilltop view of Malita | |
 Flag  Seal | |
Nicknames:
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| Motto: Angat Malita! | |
 Map of Davao Occidental with Malita highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Malita | |
.svg)  Malita Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:6°24′39″N125°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, 1936 |
| Barangays | 30 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Bradly L. Bautista |
| • Vice Mayor | Estefanie B. Dumama |
| • Representative | Lorna Bautista-Bandigan |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 74,037 voters (2025) |
| 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 (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 118,438 |
| • Density | 134.08/km2 (347.25/sq mi) |
| • Households | 29,489 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 35.66 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 799.1 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 1,671 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 617.4 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 500.3 million (2022) |
| 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 theMunicipality of Malita (Cebuano:Lungsod sa Malita;Filipino:Bayan ng Malita), is amunicipality and capital of theprovince ofDavao Occidental,Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 118,197 people making it the most populous town in the province.[5]
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 andAraw ng Malita is celebrated annually on November 17, the day of its establishment's enactment in 1936.
According to a legend, the name of Malita was derived from theSpanish wordmaleta, meaningsuitcase. Don Mariano Peralta, a retiredSpanish–American War veteran, lost his suitcase while crossing a river. His shouts of"Maleta, Maleta" caught the attention of the locals, who retrieved it and later named the area Malita. Its spelling may be associated with the local pronunciation, wherein the ‘e’ sound is commonly used for thevowels ‘i’ and ‘e’.[6]
Malita is the first municipality established in what is nowDavao Occidental. However, its existence dates back scores of years before its formal creation as a municipality of the undivided province ofDavao. The Tagakaulo, Blaan and Manobo communities have been living in the area before the arrival of the Spaniards. In 1887, Pablo Pastells, aJesuit missionary, mentioned Malita, along with Malalag and Lais, as areas where a total of almost 7,000 Tagakaulos lived in.[7]
Records show that Malita must have existed long before the passage of thePhilippine Commission Act, the Laws of theMoro 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 abarrio ofSanta Cruz long before the coming of the Americans toDavao.
Waves of migrants from theVisayan islands, most of whom hail fromCebu, came on what is now Malita during the American colonial period. They were later followed by immigrants fromLuzon. AfterWorld War II, the flow of migrants continued to other parts of then-Davao province and that included Malita.
In 1936, Malita was converted from a municipal district into a municipality after Executive Order No. 64, s. 1936 was issued by then-PresidentManuel L. Quezon. It originally consisted of nine barrios: Malita (the municipal seat), Basiauan, Kalian, Lacaron, Lais, Lawa, Lawayon, Talaguton, and Tubalon.[8] Marcelino Maruya, for whom the town ofDon Marcelino was named after, was the first appointed municipal mayor. The town parish, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Malita, was established in 1947.[9]
Barrios Batulaki and Caburan were carved out from Malita to form the separate town ofTrinidad (now Jose Abad Santos) on August 1, 1948.[10] On May 8, 1967, Malita became part ofDavao del Sur, when Davao was divided under Republic Act No. 4867.[11] On December 19, 1979, barangays Calian, Kiobog, Lamidan, Lawa, Nueva Villa, and Talagutong were separated from Malita to form the new municipality ofDon Marcelino.[12]
The town high school was established in 1966. This school would eventually become theSouthern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology in 1984.
In 1978, the Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative expanded into Malita, becoming the power provider in the town.[13]
On October 28, 2013, Malita was ceded toDavao Occidental and designated as its provincial capital as a result of aplebiscite, in which the majority of voters approved the creation of the new province.[14]
In 2016, a 2000-hectare industrial plant built bySan Miguel opened in the town.[15]
| 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) |
| Averageprecipitation 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[16] | |||||||||||||
Malita is subdivided into 30barangays:[17] Each barangay consists ofpuroks while some havesitios.
| 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% |
| 2024 | 118,438 | +0.05% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22] | ||
Poverty incidence of Malita
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
Malita is the main economic center of Davao Occidental. Agriculture and fishery are primary economic drivers of the municipality.[7] There is also a fledgling tourism industry, focused on snorkeling and water activities.[31] 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 bySan Miguel Global Power.[32]
As the town is quite far from other urban centers such asDigos,Davao City andGeneral 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 (2022-2025):
Places adjacent to Malita | |
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 Province ofDavao Occidental | |
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Malita (capital and largest municipality) | |
| Municipalities | |
