Padada is a 4th class municipality in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 24,112 people in 5,202 households. Its boundaries were defined by Republic Act No. 1008, approved June 12, 1954.

History

Padada as a town was organized on July 15, 1949, after its creation into such by virtue of Executive Order # 236 of the late Elpidio Quirino, then president of the Republic of the Philippines. The territorial jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

 of Padada originally embraced the present town of Sta. Maria, Malalag and Sulop in the south, Kiblawan in the west, Hagonoy in the north, and part of Matanao in the northwest with the seat of government in the barrio of Limonso which is now the Padada Poblacion. Thus, the old one street barrio of Limonso is the harbinger of the popular town of Padada. For it came to pass that in 1946 after the proclamation of the Philippine Republic, hordes of home seekers mostly Filipino veterans of the second world war

World war

A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

 headed by the late Major Froilan Mascardo Matas, settled the area called Padada Valley occupying several repossessed Japanese Plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

 in the vicinity. With the influx of numerous migrants of all walks of life, Limonso as the center of trade, bustled into a teeming commercial community, attracting businessmen from neighboring towns and provinces. With cock-fighting and various games and amusements held and conducted regularly and patronized by countless aficionados, Limonso rose into a stature highly qualified to become a separate municipality. As early as January 1949, the various documents and blue print for the creation of Padada Town were prepared meticously and readied for submittal to the ruling Liberal Party

Liberal Party

Liberal Party is the name for dozens of political parties around the world. Liberal parties can be center-left, centrist, or center-right depending on their location...

 of the late Pres. Quirino for consideration and adoption, finally securing its approval through Executive Order

Executive order

An executive order in the United States is an order issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government. In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders in council. Executive orders may also be issued at the state level by a state's governor or...

 No. 236, dated July 1, 1949.

Mr. Antonio Go Pace was the first mayor by appointment who was erstwhile a councilor of Sta. Cruz. The creation of Limonso now Padada into a municipality and the subdivision of the poblacion into commercial and residential districts was attributed to him. Gregorio Matas was the first elected mayor and held the position for three consecutive terms with Mr. Felix Brandares as Vice Mayor and in which the municipal building was possible thru his effort. Atty. Isidro M. Ordaneza succeeded the former and holds the longest tenure of office—16 years from 1963 and re-elected again in 1967 and 1971 until March 1979.. Padada ABC gymnasium was built during his term.

¹However, in the process of re-organization of certain local governments by Pre. Ferdinand E. Marcos, then Vice-Mayor Benjamin A. Saragena was designated Acting Mayor of Padada, assuming office on March 19, 1979. In the 1980 local elections, Acting Mayor Saragena was duly elected Mayor with Dra. Pascuala Dizon as vice-Mayor and his entire Sangguniang Bayan

Sangguniang Bayan

The Sangguniang Bayan is the legislature of municipal governments in the Philippines. It passes ordinances and resolutions for the effective administration of the municipality...

 ticket was swept into office.

After the People Power

People Power

People Power names:* the Philippine People Power Revolution* political parties in several countries, see People Power Party...

 in EDSA, Hon. Corazon C. Aquino appointed Atty. Carmelo R. De Los Cientos III as OIC of this Municipality and assumes the office with Hon. Elpedio R. Pantojan as OIC Vice-Mayor and 8 OIC Sangguniang Banyan.

Prior to the 1988 local elections, all OIC Municipal Officials we made to resign during the campaign period from December 1987 to February 1988. It was on this short period of time that another OIC ruled the municipality. OIC Mayor Leonardo U. Pillerin and Vice Mayor Margarito Mendez were installed from December 1987 to February 1988, together with the 8 OIC S.B. members. In the 1998 local election, former Mayor Benjamin A. Saragena won the election of Mayor and Hon. Antonio N. Razonable as the Vice-Mayor.

His stint however was cut short with the election of Vice Mayor Antonio N. Razonable as Mayor in 2001 election. In his first 3-year term he rose the stature of the LGU by making it the third cleanest and greenest municipality in the year 2003 (up from 13th) and become a recipient of the "Kaagapay Zeal of Excellence" in local governance in 2004, one of the twenty municipalities in the entire country who received the award. Hon. Razonable had completed the three-term service as Mayor of Padada from 2001-2010.

The May 10, 2010 synchronize elections had created an abrupt change in the history of electoral process in the nation because of the use of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine. It was also a historical moment in Padada and specially an exciting election to the winning candidates where they, for the first time experience a modern electoral system.

The 2010 elections pave the way to Hon. Pedro F. Caminero Jr, a vice mayor for three-terms during the administration of Hon. Razonable, to reign the local government

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 of Padada as the new Mayor. He is accompanied by Hon. Alexander V. Morales as his vice Mayor and partner in the local governance. The two have been officials of Padada for several years and learning from their experience, they probably have much knowledge on the LGU and the people they are going to lead.

Municipal profile

Padada is a word which refers to a tree that belongs to the mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

 family which were abundant along its entire quite shorelines and estuaries during the primeval time, but due to encroachment and indiscriminate fish farming

Fish farming

Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases young fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species'...

, Padada tree become extinct.

Guihing was once the original sitio of Padada and its formation was brought about by Mr. Walstrom, an American expatriate who owns a vast coconut plantation in the area called the Mindanao Estate Co., together with the effort of Don Bartolome Hernandez Sr., a coconut planter and a pioneer of the area too.

Description

PADADA is formed in physical geography

Physical geography

Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography is that branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the...

 as part of the province

Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

 of Davao del Sur lying between 125 degrees 20’ east longitude and 6 degree 28’ 44’ north latitude. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Hagonoy

Hagonoy, Davao del Sur

Hagonoy is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 46,648 people in 9,293 households.-History:Republic Act No...

, on the west by the municipality of Kiblawan, on the south by the municipalities of Sulop and Malalag and on the east by the Davao

Davao

Davao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...

 gulf. The Poblacion is approximately fourteen (14) kilometers from Digos, the capital town of Davao del Sur.

Land Area

The total land area of the municipality is 4,754 hectares, 65% of which is planted to coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 and 35% to banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

, corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

, rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 and other crops. It has three urban barangays namely, NCO, Almendras and Quirino that totals to one hundred eighty one hectares. Four of the remaining fourteen barangays are located along the coastal portion and the other on the internal area

Area

Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

. Two (2%) of the total provincial land area is what constitute the municipality of Padada.