Philippine E-Journals

General Santos City of Southern Mindanao: From a Frontier Settlement to a Booming City in the South, 1939-2000

Andrea V. Campado

Discipline: History

 

Abstract:

This is a socio-historical study of the evolution of General Santos City in Southern Mindanao – from a vast untapped settlement area in 1939 and up to the nineties. The methodology of this study is qualitative, that is, it is not guided by hypotheses but by issues which the study seeks to answer. Data were obtained through varied research techniques. Among the major findings of the study are the following: one, that the general poverty in the country was a powerful “push” factor for the migration to this place; two, that the relationship which developed between the newcomers and the original inhabitants of the place at the time of the initial contact proved enduring despite the outbreak of the Mindanao conflict in later years; three, that the social processes of accommodation, assimilation and amalgamation were all involved in the formation of a “melting pot” community; and four, that the inherent geographical advantage of the research area, coupled with the open and tolerant outlook of its people developed during the process of interaction with each other, were crucial factors in the leadership status of General Santos City in the Koronadal – Allah Valley.