Law and order and unwavering support from leaders and people, these are the major thrusts which the city government of Davao is focusing on the heels of its being recognized by international financing institutions as one of the most business friendly cities in the Philippines.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte stressed Sunday that the award conferred by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank (WB) was made possible because of compliance of the business sector and the local populace of the city’s laws.
“Less criminality and undisturbed business operations,” Duterte said, “will pump-prime investments in the city.” The honor, he said, belongs to the people.
Having attended the City Competitiveness Forum on Tuesday, Acting City Administrator Zoleika Lopez also said Wednesday in the Club 888 Forum at the Marco Polo Davao that “everybody in Davao City is accounted for all its statistics.”
She mentioned the participation and support of private sectors working hand-in-hand with the government. To maximize the city’s competitiveness, she said, “It’s a work in progress… We’re trying to reach as many people as possible.”
The survey conducted both by the IFC and WB, bared that requests for building permits involving major infrastructure from the city engineer’s office will only take 57 days to complete compared to 169 days of processing with other local government units.
Long days of processing and making ‘personal follow-ups’ will also breed corruption, Duterte said in vernacular in the Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa TV program aired every Sunday. This is the reason, he said, that faster and shorter processing of permits by the city’s agencies is a boon to potential investors who need not wait too long to operate their business.
Real estate is also booming in the metropolis with new subdivision projects sprouting in the districts of Tugbok and Buhangin. The re-entry of Kisan Lu, a major home-grown housing developer, has also added to the vibrant estate sector. Condominium units, which cost only a million pesos per unit—give or take–are also rising along the high-end communities in Ecoland and in middle-income commercial section of Bolton Street. Just recently, Robinsons opened a mall in Lanang while another one, owned by the Floirendo Group of Companies, is going up in Bajada .
While the city needs to address the housing gap to accommodate the rising population brought about by migration of people from various parts of the country, notably Mindanao, Duterte said the city also needs to protect its environment and natural resources.
While noting the numerous city council resolutions addressing the housing gap, Duterte said he cannot allow more housing units to be built in the Dumoy area where the city’s aquifer is located. “I cannot allow more people and more houses there because it will threaten to destroy our source of safe drinking water,” he said.
Davao City possesses one of the best potable water in the world, second only to that of The Netherlands.
Duterte also said that the city needs to ‘balance’ new investments with generation of livelihood opportunities and protection of poor entrepreneurs. He said the city also needs to look after the welfare of the 3,000 sidewalk vendors who depend on their meager daily income selling their wares along the city’s sidewalks, in Chinatown and markets in Bankerohan, Agdao, and Matina. [Rick R. Flores with Lorie Ann A. Cascaro]
