Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte disclosed that despite the current political climate, investments continue to come in Davao City.
“Ang nature sa mga negosyante kung naay profit dili gyud na muatras kung ingon ana lang ang istoryahan. Pero kani perception wise kung, ginaguba man gyud nila ang image sa Davao, I don’t think maapektuhan ta kay kita man gud mismo self-sustaining man gud ta, ang local economy nato kay maayo ba,” the mayor said in the episode 6 of “Basta Dabawenyo” on Monday.
In his State of the City Address (SOCA) last week, Duterte reported that the city government of Davao has approved over P1 billion-worth of actual investments.
The mayor said the city government continues to provide investment incentives to make the city more lucrative for investors and in fact, as of July 2024, the city has approved P1,080,548,400 worth of actual investments from three companies in the manufacturing, agri-business, and technology sectors.
He also said that the city has three billion more investment pledges lined up for the rest of the year for interested investors in the areas of health, BPO, tourism, social enterprise, manufacturing, and agri-business.
The mayor said people come to Davao City to work and do business.
“Wala man na’y labot as long as naa sila’y return of investment mao na ang pinaka importante, ug na-istudyuhan nila ug tan-aw nila maka-ginansya sila,” Duterte said.
He also mentioned the peace and order situation that makes Davao City attractive to investors.
“Pero ang sinugdanan aning tanan, peace and order gyud. Bisan unsaon. Kay bisan unsaon nimo ug paningkamot, mu-trabaho ka, mutukod ka ug negosyo unya paggawas nimo dinha sa dalan ilugon lang ug holdaper o kawaton ug akyat-bahay ang imohang hinaguan, wala gihapon,” he said.
According to the mayor, this is the same peace and order situation that allegedly the Marcos administration wants to tarnish, the stability of the city by moving the ranks of the police through the Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11).
“Mao gani ni, kaning ginabuhat ni Torre (PRO 11 Director Brigadier General Nicholas Torre III) karon sige sila ug re-shuffle, pulihan ning mga pulis, it shows instability sa PNP. So wa ta’y mahimo kay the administration (Marcos) is supporting their actions, gina-suportahan na nila. Unsa ma’y mahimo nato ron? Well, dili man pud gyud nila ihatag sa akoa ang listahan kung asa ko makapili ug city director (DCPO City Director). Dili man pud to nila ibalik tung mga gipananggal nila nga performing policemen (station commanders). Ambot,” the mayor said.
The mayor also alleged that the Marcos administration, whether directly or indirectly, is protecting the bad people.
“So, mao na kung ila nang gubaon (Davao), not maybe today but in the future, naa gyud na’y epekto (investments in Davao City),” the mayor said.
