Jose Abad Santos, officially the Municipality of Jose Abad Santos (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Davao Occidental Davao Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Occidental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the municipality of Malita, the most populous town in the province. To the east lies ...

, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 73,381 people.

History

The Municipality of Jose Abad Santos was formerly a part of

Malita Malita, officially the Municipality of Malita (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Davao Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 118, ...

town, then in the undivided province of Davao. Barrios Batulaki and Caburan seceded and established as a separate town on August 1, 1948, and was originally named Trinidad. Barrio Caburan became its ''

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

'' or town center. On April 20, 1955, the municipality was renamed by virtue of Republic Act No. 1206, in honor of

José Abad Santos José Abad Santos y Basco (, ; February 19, 1886 – May 1, 1942) was the fifth chief justice of the Philippines, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He briefly served as the acting president of the Philippines, president of ...

, the

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines () presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is currently held by Alexander ...

who was executed by the Japanese invading forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On May 8, 1967, the municipality became part of

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

, when Davao was divided under Republic Act No. 4867. On June 11, 1978, the islands of Sarangani and Balut were carved out from the municipality to form the new municipality of

Sarangani Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the ...

, through Presidential Decree No. 1550 signed by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. On October 28, 2013, the municipality was ceded to

as a result of a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

, in which the majority of voters approved the creation of the new province. On January 1, 2021, Barangay Caburan experienced a nearby earthquake. Two days later, the town became the center of a diarrhea outbreak.

Geography

It is the southernmost municipality on the mainland of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

island. The coastal town is the second largest municipality in Davao Occidental after

Barangays

Jose Abad Santos is politically subdivided into 26

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Balangonan * Buguis * Bukid * Butuan * Butulan * Caburan Big * Caburan Small (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Camalian * Carahayan * Cayaponga * Culaman * Kalbay * Kitayo * Magulibas * Malalan * Mangile * Marabatuan * Meybio * Molmol * Nuing * Patulang * Quiapo * San Isidro * Sugal * Tabayon * Tanuman

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Vast natural resources can be found, such as the wide stretch of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s of the municipality.

Milkfish The milkfish (''Chanos chanos'') is a widespread species of ray-finned fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae, and the only living member of the genus ''Chanos''. The repeating scientific na ...

and

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically mos ...

breeding, as well as

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

production, are the primary source of income for its people. The long stretch of beaches with brown, black and white sands, together with abundant

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

offshore are the primary natural attractions of Jose Abad Santos.

Transportation

The municipality can be reached by

public utility vehicle Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

s plying from

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

and

Digos Digos, officially the City of Digos (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 188,376 people. The city lies on the western shores of Davao Gul ...

via the

Pan-Philippine Highway The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway (; ), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as the country's p ...

. Past the town of

Sulop Sulop, officially the Municipality of Sulop (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,151 people. H ...

is the junction with Davao del Sur Provincial Highway. Turning east at the junction, head south on the provincial highway to the town of

. And to the said municipality, ''habal-habal'' or passenger motorcycles ply to the adjacent town Don Marcelino.

Road condition

The road condition of the town is poor. Its road network is mostly unpaved, traversing through high-sloped hilly coastal and mountain roads with the danger of falling rocks from above. Most of the river crossings have no bridges, so drivers traversing the town have to consider if their vehicle is capable of crossing a shallow river. During rainy weather, travelers have to wait for the water level to subside before the river could become accessible again. A trip to the town is considered as either adventurous or dangerous by those who intend to visit depending on their experience, though part of the road heading to Don Marcelino town to the north is paved, made with concrete cement.

Controversy

On August 20, 2013, former provincial representative

Marc Douglas Cagas IV Marc Douglas Chan Cagas IV (born April 24, 1976) is a Filipino politician. A member of the Nacionalista Party, he was elected in 2007 as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representing the First District of Davao del ...

complained about the DPWH's complacency about the project involving the improving of roads going to the municipality. He attributed the complacency to the pork barrel scandal that was already happening in the country's politics since several days before the said complaint due to overspending of their budget for the said project.

References

External links

Jose Abad Santos Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Davao Occidental 1948 establishments in the Philippines