Malita

According to a legend, the name of Malita was derived from the Spanish word maleta, meaning suitcase. Don Mariano Peralta, a retired Spanish–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 the vowels ‘i’ and ‘e’.^[6]

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 a municipality of the undivided province of Davao. The Tagakaulo, Blaan and Manobo communities have been living in the area before the arrival of the Spaniards. In 1887, Pablo Pastells, a Jesuit 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 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 barrio of Santa Cruz long before the coming of the Americans to Davao.

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. After World 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-President Manuel 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 of Don 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 of Trinidad (now Jose Abad Santos) on August 1, 1948.^[10] On May 8, 1967, Malita became part of Davao 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 of Don Marcelino.^[12]

The town high school was established in 1966. This school would eventually become the Southern 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 to Davao Occidental and designated as its provincial capital as a result of a plebiscite, in which the majority of voters approved the creation of the new province.^[14]

In 2016, a 2000-hectare industrial plant built by San Miguel opened in the town. ^[15]

Poverty incidence of Malita (%)

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]}

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.^[32] 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.^[33]

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 (2022-2025):

• Mayor: Bradly Bautista
• Vice Mayor: Estefanie Bautista-Dumama
• Councilors:
  • Benjamin Bautista III
  • Carlo Chino Baliota
  • Romeo T. Lopez
  • Girly Licuan
  • Allan Colina
  • Isabelo Masiwel
  • Tomas Alcordo Jr.
  • Josie James Rillo