The Province of Zamboanga del Sur is located in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. Its capital is the city of Pagadian.The province is bordered on the north by Zamboanga del Norte, west by Zamboanga Sibugay, northeast by Misamis Occidental, east by Lanao del Norte, southeast by the Illana Bay, and south by the Moro Gulf.
A brief history of our province...
1200s
The original inhabitants of the Zamboanga peninsula were the Maguindanaon, and Subanen, who settled along the riverbanks in inland areas; and the various Sama-Bajau and Yakan ethnic groups who settled in coastal areas. Tausūg settlers from northeastern Mindanao also migrated to the region in the 13th century.
1600s
The name of Zamboanga is the Hispanicized spelling of the Sinama term for “mooring place” – samboangan (also spelled sambuangan; and in Subanen, sembwangan), from the root word samboang (“mooring pole”). “Samboangan” was the original name of Zamboanga City, from where the name of the peninsula is derived from. “Samboangan” is attested in Spanish, British, French, German, and American historical records from as far back as the 17th century.
1940s
The region was additionally settled by migrants (mostly from the Visayas islands) after World War II. Together with the original settlers, these pioneers helped develop Zamboanga del Sur into the abundant and culturally diverse province that it is. Historically, Zamboanga City was the capital of the Moro Province in western Mindanao, which comprised five districts: Cotabato, Davao, Sulu, Lanao, and Zamboanga. In 1940, these districts became individual provinces. Zamboanga City became the capital of Zamboanga province. Soon after World War II, the provincial capital was transferred to Dipolog. Molave was created as the provincial capital in 1948.
1952
On June 6, 1952, through Republic Act 711, Zamboanga del Sur was carved out from the former Zamboanga province that encompassed the entire peninsula in southwestern Mindanao. As the 52nd province of the Philippines, it originally consisted of 11 towns, which were later expanded into 42 municipalities and one city, Pagadian, its capital.
2001
Political developments in February 2001 saw another major change in the territorial jurisdiction of Zamboanga del Sur. Its inhabitants voted to create a new province out of the third congressional district, named Zamboanga Sibugay.
2019
In 2019, Victor J. Yu became the 15th Governor of Zamboanga del Sur. His wife, Divina Grace C. Yu was also elected as Representative of the 1st District of Zamboanga del Sur. Gov. Yu previously served as the Representative of the 1st District of Zamboanga del Sur in the 14th, 15th and 16th Congress of the Philippines.
2021
In January 2019, the Provincial Council of Zamboanga del Sur through Resolution Nuber ___ declared the Province as Insurgency Free after the Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division, 102nd Infantry “Igsoon” Brigade, 53rd Infantry “Matapat ” Battalion dismantled the guerilla units of the CPP-NPA operating in Zamboanga del Sur.
