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. 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. Barrios Batulaki and Caburan were carved out from Malita to form the separate town of
Trinidad (now Jose Abad Santos) on August 1, 1948. On May 8, 1967, Malita became part of
Davao del Sur, when Davao was divided under Republic Act No. 4867. 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. 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. 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. In 2016, a 2000-hectare industrial plant built by
San Miguel opened in the town. ==Geography==