1206, in honor of José Abad Santos, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines who was executed by the Japanese invading forces during World War II.

[9] On October 28, 2013, the municipality was ceded to Davao Occidental as a result of a plebiscite, in which the majority of voters approved the creation of the new province.

Poverty Incidence of Jose Abad Santos Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Vast natural resources can be found, such as the wide stretch of mangroves of the municipality.

The long stretch of beaches with brown, black and white sands, together with abundant marine life offshore are the primary natural attractions of Jose Abad Santos.

On August 20, 2013, former provincial representative Marc Douglas Cagas IV complained about the DPWH's complacency about the project involving the improving of roads going to the municipality.

He attributed the complacency to the pork barrel scandal that was already happening in the country's politics since several days before the said complaint due to overspending of their budget for the said project.