Here’s a copy of Executive Order #13, signed by City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, creating the steering committee that will oversee the organization of this year’s Kadayawan sa Dabaw festival.

These are very capable and dedicated people in the steering committee, and the private sector, as always, is very supportive. Ergo, we can expect an even grander celebration in August 2009! So, mark your calendars: Kadayawan sa Dabaw will be from 17 to 23 August 2009. Watch this blog for updates!

Davao City still enjoys the distinction of being the only city in the Philippines with an emergency response center available on call 24 hours a day. Just dial 911 on any landline or mobile phone (toll free) in case of emergency.

Recently, the Davao City 911 Emergency Response Center opened a new operations hub in the south — a stone’s throw away from where I live, in fact. The new center used to be a public market. And, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why the city government back in the ’80s decided to put a wet market in the middle of a residential district. Needless to say, it was a terrible idea. I’m glad that the city has found a much better use of the facility.

Here are some photos I asked Chattee Lara to take of the new center located in Juna Subdivision, Matina.

From their new base in Matina, these are the city’s services that will respond to emergency situations anywhere in the city: Emergency Medical Service, Urban Search & Rescue, Fire Auxiliary Service, and the K-9 Service.

Araw ng Dabaw will be upon us again in March 2009. This year is the 72nd anniversary of the city’s foundation day, and the theme is “Pagtupad sa Dakilang Pangako“. For more information about Davao City’s history, please see the relevant entry in Wikipedia.

Here is the Calendar of Activities, courtesy of the City Tourism Operations Office. The official date of Davao City’s foundation day is 16 March, but there are many events scheduled around this date (including the 2nd Davao Food Appreciation Tour).

Last night, Chattee and I went on an impromptu walking and jeepney-riding tour of downtown Davao. I wanted to maximize my temporary possession of a Nikon D80 (equipped with a Sigma 18-200mm lens), and the weather was really nice.

We met up at the Matina Town Square. I’d hoped we could chance upon good shots at the park, but it was raining a few hours before, so no luck.

Then we hied off to Arman’s of Tagum, which is an export of Tagum City. It’s well-known among bus travelers going north of Davao, because Arman’s has an eatery along the route. We had a heavy meal, because we ordered more than we could finish! Read the full story

We’ve now decided on the venue for WordCamp Davao on 4 September 2008. For those of you who have registered for the event (and complied with the requirements), see you at Bryan’s Grill & Café in Palm Village. For those who aren’t familiar with the place, click through to the locator map.

Bryan’s Grill is a cozy al fresco restaurant where we can sit back and relax while listening to the WordCamp speakers: Councilor Pete Laviña, Red Rola, yours truly, and of course, Mr. WordPress himself, Matt Mullenweg. And it helps that the food at Bryan’s is simply spectacular.

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From my family mailing list, I got a heads-up about an independent film by Director Paul Alexander Morales, Concerto. According to the trailer and blog, the film is about a family in Davao and their ordeal during the last part of World War II.

To the right is the movie poster, which I got from the movie’s blog [http://concertothefilm.blogspot.com].

Watching the trailer, I was really intrigued by the theme, the apparent story of the movie. It says in the blog that it’s about a “piano concert” that the family held in the forests of Davao City amidst the war. Presumably, this is the time of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines.

This film, which is a historical account by the way, is doubly interesting for me. Since it is about Davao somehow, and because it is placed in a historical setting with Japanese personages, I really hope I’ll be able to see it.

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Another metric by which Davao City can proudly affirm her status as a major player in Philippine industry is the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Program (PCCRP) of the Policy Center of the Asian Institute of Management. Results of the PCCRP’s biennial study (2007), presented in Makati last 4 July 2008, declare that Davao ranks Number 1 in the metro cities category.

This flagship research project by the AIM, established in 1999, is conducted every two years, and has since become a benchmark of Philippine cities’ overall economic standing. To quote the AIM:

…the Program envisions to promote national competitiveness by encouraging healthy competition among highly urbanized and emerging cities, emphasizing the crucial roles of small and medium enterprises as the backbone of local development. By gathering and compiling strategic data and providing focused analyses of the results, the PCCRP also seeks to cultivate competitive industries, promote healthy communities and maximize the economic potentials of the cities

This should be another reason for Dabawenyos to be proud of their beloved city. And it should be one more indicator of just how viable Davao is as an investment destination.

I have recently been to Lapu-Lapu, Makati and Quezon City, and the progress in those cities is clearly evident. Still, Davao City tops them all in the 2007 survey. The PCCRP includes the following criteria in its study: dynamism of local economy, cost of doing business, infrastructure, human resources and training, responsiveness of LGU to business needs and quality of life.

Dynamism of local economy / Cost of doing business / Infrastructure. There certainly is much dynamism in Davao’s local economy, as evidenced by an ongoing construction boom, and the entry of new industry players such as call centers and other BPO operators.

Human resources and training. Davao is a favorite hunting ground among headhunters, and the hiring rate of Dabawenyos is reportedly high. Call centers (e.g., Concentrix and People Support) view their Davao staff as highly trainable.

Responsiveness of LGU to business needs. Davao’s local government is the first to establish a "911" emergency response service, which is being supported by the Davao Light and Power Company. Aside from this, the LGU maintains very good working relationships with private enterprises and organizations.

Quality of life. Just read this blog and my readers’ comments… Need I say more?

Thank you to Councilor Pete Laviña for alerting us to this piece of news! It’s something all Dabawenyo bloggers should proudly post about!

With all the Internet-based services and new technologies available to the global audience, it’s rather frustrating that we still don’t have a full-service mapping system for Davao City. All we have available are tourist maps that aren’t even to scale, and road maps that aren’t really road maps at all.

The city government actually has a professionally-created map of the entire city, but they won’t release any part of it to the public. They say it’s for security reasons. One official actually told me, it’s to avoid having evil elements of society use the information. OK, that’s fine, but what about the other side of the coin?

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Here’s the schedule of activities for the celebration of Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2008, as provided by the City Tourism Office. I will update this schedule as I receive more information (not to mention, what time these events will be held). I’m also still trying to get some literature on the activities listed below.

This year’s theme is “Musanay Lumadnong Kagikan, Yutang Kabilin Panalipdan!“

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My very good and long-time friend, Jojie Alcantara, has come up with a great plan for bloggers to do a tour within Davao City. A perfect way to start the summer!

Jojie says she’ll be able to accommodate 10 bloggers per tour. To give everyone a chance, we’ll ask you to sign up for one tour only. This is a good chance for Dabawenyo bloggers to meet up and get together and do something out of the ordinary. Sign up now before the slots are filled up! Read the full story