Davao down one step, but still among top 5 competitive RP cities

The city has gone one rank lower from its previous ranking as the third most competitive highly-urbanized city in the country, but still made it to the top 5. 

Davao City bagged the Fourth Most Competitive City in the Highly-Urbanized category during the 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index Awards at the 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center on August 16, 2018.

“The skid from 3rd to 4th can be explained by the different concepts in the business permitting processes,” Davao City Planning and Development Office Chief Ivan Cortez said.

He said last year “it was okay to count actual time spent per office then accumulate spent time per office divide by eight hours per day.The imposed system this year is that every office or every step in the process, regardless if it will only take a few minutes, they counted it as equivalent to one day. “

Cortez said that with the new system, the whole process of getting a permit is counted as a 5-day process if the applicant has to go to different offices even if the permit is released in just one day.

“Davao City has consistently ranked among the top 5 most competitive cities in the Philippines in the past years,” he said.

The city ranked fifth most competitive highly-urbanized city in 2015 and 2016 but got the third place in 2017. The award is given annually by the Department of Trade and Industry-National Competitiveness Council on the basis of each city’s ranking in economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure.

In 2016, Davao City ranked 8th for economic dynamism category, 4th for government efficiency category, and 6th for infrastructure.  A new category, the resiliency award, was added last year and Davao City ranked first in this category. Last year, it was also the only city in Mindanao that made it to the top five, following Quezon City and Manila City.

“The award is the testament of all the efforts made by all of the departments of the City Government to bring development to Davao City. With this award, we can see that the government is unceasingly giving its best to continue to improve its services,” Cortez said.

Davao City placed third in Economic Dynamism, one step higher from the previous year’s ranking according to the Davao City Investment Promotion Center. Among the factors considered for this category are the size of economy, sources of material, structure of economy, safety compliance of businesses, cost of living, financial deepening involving the number of financial institutions within the city and number of people employed.

The city also got third prize in the Infrastructure category, which include roads, water and power utilities, telecommunication, number of transport vehicles, education and health facilities and financial technology capacity.

From its previous first place ranking, the city this year ranked second in Resilience, which is measured based on land-use planning, disaster risk management plan, early warning systems and emergency infrastructures.

The cities and municipalities competitiveness index measures a local government unit’s competitiveness and presents an opportunity for local governments to better understand their performance against global standards.

Mayor Sara Duterte earlier attributed the city’s awards and achievements to the vibrant partnership between the city government and the private sector.

New Hiyas ng Kadayawan crown inspired by Waling-waling

photo courtesy of CIO

The beautiful women representing Davao City’s 11 tribes in the Hiyas ng Kadayawan this year have their eyes not only on winning the crown, but in getting the crown, literally.

A lot of work is invested from the conceptualization up to the actual creation of the crowns since they have become symbolic of the pageants they represent.

City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) Head Gene Rose Tecson said the Hiyas ng Kadayawan crown has indeed come a long from years way back when the crowns were heavier and bigger. 

“This time, the crown is simpler but more elegant,” Tecson said.

“This year’s Hiyas ng Kadayawan crown is grander and more functional,” said Dan Salvaña, Jr. who is Hiyas ng Kadayawan events director for the second consecutive year.

The crown for this year’s Hiyas ng Kadayawan is a befitting representation of the Waling-Waling or vanda sanderiana, one of the icons of Davao City and of the Kadayawan Festival. The Festival used to be called Apo Duwaling which is a play on the three icons of the city namely Mt. Apo, Durian and the Waling-Waling.

photo courtesy of CIO

Waling-Waling, which is endemic in Mindanao, is the queen of Philippine orchids.

Salvana said the design of the Hiyas ng Kadayawan crown is changed every year since there is actually no permanent design for the Hiyas crown.

“When I talked to the designer I told him to use the same inspiration for the event logo which is the waling waling, but to make it more colorful,” he said.

Tres Roldan Cartera of Nabunturan designed the Hiyas ng Kadayawan crown using lighter materials such as rhinestones. These crystals are lighter but shinier especially under the night lights during the pageant. The Hiyas ng Kadayawan Grand Winner will get the biggest crown while the runners-up will get almost identical but smaller versions of the crown.

Saldana said the CTOO will safe keep the crown for the Hiyas ng Kadayawan winner. The crowns will be used by the winners during official events. But when their terms end, then they get to keep the crown.

33rd Kadayawan Festival kicks off, highlights tri-people

Mayor Sara Duterte bangs the gong to officially open the 33rd Kadayawan sa Davao (photo courtesy of the City  Government of Davao)

Unity amidst diversity might as well be the theme of the 33rd Kadayawan Festival.

The peaceful co-existence and cooperation among its tri-people consisting of the Christians, Lumads or Indigenous Peoples and the Muslims has never been more evident as the festival kicked off Friday (August 10) at the Kadayawan Circle, Magsaysay Park.

Mayor Sara Duterte led the “Pag-abli sa Kadayawan” which was highlighted by a Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Romulo G. Valles who is also president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Unlike most festival in the Philippines that have religious origin, the Kadayawan sa Davao is a thanksgiving festival for the bountiful harvest in the city, It focuses not just on the city’s agricultural produce but also its rich culture specifically on the 11 tribes namely the Sama, Kagan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Iranun, Tausug, Klata Bagobo, Obo Manobo, Ata, Matigsalug, and Tagabawa. 

“Every year we celebrate Kadayawan but this year we have made it bigger and grander with more events lined up to encourage greater participation from Dabawenyos from all walks of life,” Sara said.

What made Kadayawan sa Davao the festival of festivals is its ability to provide a venue where the city’s tri-people unite to produce something beautiful.

Valles, who also joined representative from the city’s Indigenous Peoples and the Muslim community in their presentation of petitions, during the opening, was elated when he realized that the Muslims and Lumads were also present during the mass.

“We are not only a community of faith in Davao. I presume there are people who truly believe in God but in different styles and proclamations of faith,” he said. Mass is a beautiful tradition, he said, “but your presence here people of other faith is telling another beautiful truth in Davao that in prayer we can come together.”

Valles said he is touched by the manifestation in the part of the mass where we present our petitions to the lord, that is beautiful (referring to the presence of the Muslims and Lumads).

“There is fear, darkness in life but we in Davao are very hopeful, happy and resilient that everything will be Madayaw (good) and maayo (become better and will get by),” he said. He also recognized the limitations not just of the church but of the whole community to respond to difficulties like fire incidents, trouble and violence.

It can be recalled that the church has not given the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte a honeymoon period and has criticized the president for his anti-illegal drusg campaign.

Valles said many national church conventions are scheduled to be held in the city. This includes the next CBCP Plenary Assembly which, he said, is tentatively eyeing the city as a venue. The three-day CBCP 4th National Media Convention, with up to 80 diocese participants, was held in the city last week. 

“During the convention, a bishop said he supported the holding of the convention here and they were able to see that martial law is not actually felt here and it is very peaceful in Mindanao,” Valles said. They are beginning to see the other side of the story, he added.

Valles thanked the city for its support to the convention and said that by doing that, it helped show the real face of Davao to these people.

Kadayawan sa Davao is officially held from August 10 to 21 but it is usually a month-long celebration for the city.

City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) Generose D. Tecson said they expect this year’s Kadayawan celebration to attract more visitors given the city’s popularity not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of the globe.

The peak season for tourist arrivals in the city is usually during August during the Kadayawan festivity. Tourist arrivals during the Kadayawan has continuously increased since 2016 when it was recorded at 171,851 and in 2017 at 185,660.

The city expect this year’s Kadayawan celebration to attract more visitors.  Kadayawan Festival Director Renato Gatchalian, Jr. said around 35 visitors from HongKong have confirmed their booking for the Kadayawan experiential rides. 

Construction of P85B Mindanao Railway to start January 2019

DOTR photo

The construction of the first phase of the P85 Billion Mindanao Railway Project, which covers the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment, is expected to start in January next year and is targeted to be operational by 2021 before the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends.

“We hope to finish the right of way (ROW) acquisition along the alignment and the stations by December 2018. We expect to award the winning  contractor, since this is a design and build contract, also by end of this year so we can start construction of railway by January next year,” Mindanao Railway System (MRS) Project Manager Patricia Melizza B. Ruivivar said in an interview.

Ruivivar, who presented the Mindanao Railway System Project to the City Council yesterday, said the MRS is a priority project of the president and he wants it to be operational a year before he leaves the office in 2022.

“We need the support of the local government units because they will play a big role in the implementation of a project as big as the Mindanao Railway,” she said. Mr. Duterte, who was previously mayor of Davao City, wants the LGUs to lead in the negotiations for the site acquisition since they know and are familiar with the landowners where the project will traverse.

Ruivivar said allowing the LGUs to take the lead in the land acquisition makes sense as it will prevent overpricing of the land, and prevent corruption in the negotiations since the LGU has a more transparent process. This will also allow the project to gain support down to the barangay level.

The government is set to purchase the properties traversed by the railway following the fair market value so this will be good news for landowners.

Phase 1 or the Tagum-Davao-Digos Railways is a 102-kilometer segment. The Tagum-Davao-Digos railway is the first of the three MRP segments and it is expected to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte, to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours. 

The first phase of the Mindanao Railway System, which was already approved, is a one-track locomotive with a budget of P36 Billion to be funded by the General Appropriations Act (GAA) which will already be reflected in the national budget  up to 2021.

The detailed engineering design for the MRP-TDD or segment 1 of the railway is ongoing since the approved budget of P9 Billion which is already reflected int he GAA will initially be allocated for that.

However, she said, there is a need to get another approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to change the project from a single locomotive to the original proposal of a two-track electrified railway.

The single locomotive railway means the passengers have to wait for the train to return (after a trip) while the two-track electrified railway will mean a train is readily available.

“We hope to get the NEDA approval by August and by November the bid documents will also be released and awarded by December this year,” she said.

Ruivivar said there is a need for each LGU to come up with a comprehensive plan for each of the municipality or city that will be traversed by the railway. She said there is a need to develop the stations and that includes the related commercial development in the area including parking lots and tourism establishments.

“The LGUs should prepare; we did not have a train ever so we don;t know how to plan for a railway. The LGUs need support since the country’s railway industry is not in an advanced stage,” she said.

She said academic institutions should prepare by opening engineering courses that will focus on how to build, manage and operate railways and a train station. “We want the City Council’s  support to develop a plan on education human resource to support the development of the railway industry,” she added.

Upon completion and start of operations in 2022, the Mindanao Railways System Phase 1 is expected to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte, to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours. 

At present a bus ride from Davao City to Tagum will take more or less two hours during the early part of the day. However, a bus ride from Tagum City to Davao during peak hours when there is traffic can take two to three hours.

With the railway system in place, daily ridership within the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment is expected increase to 134,060 by 2022. The Department of Transportation projects the daily ridership to further increase to 237,023 by 2032 and 375,134 by 2042.

Meanwhile, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Assistant Secretary Romeo M. Montenegro said the changes in the project description will not derail the project. 

“Whether it is a one or two-track locomotive, it will still have to pass through the initial stages of detailed engineering and ROW negotiations so the project is on track and the timeline still the same,” he added.

Montenegro the project has a multi-year allocation so it is important that the amount and the description be amended to be reflected in the next GAAs. DOTr has already recommended the changes to the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) of NEDA.

“The major challenge in starting the project now is in negotiating the Road Right of Way (ROW) as it will traverse privately-owned areas,” he said. One of the major issues in the negotiation is the variation in  property valuation.

Phase 1 of the railway will have eight stations, namely: Tagum; Carmen; Panabo; Mudiang; Davao Terminal; Toril; Sta. Cruz; and Digos. A 10-hectare depot will be built in Tagum, Davao del Norte.