THE business sector in Davao City remains calm on the heels of the heightened alert mode of law enforcement agencies following a series of bombings in some parts of Mindanao.
Teolulo T. Pasawa, Trade and Industry city director, said confidence
of investors in the city has not waned, even as locators in the business process outsourcing industry continue talks with property developers.
“There has been no report of potential investors suspending their
plan to locate in the city,” Pasawa said, adding that established investors have continued operating normally.
Col. Oscar T. Lactao, commander of Task Force Davao, said his command has raised the alert in the wake of bombings in Cotabato City, Iligan City and Jolo, Sulu. “We need to be vigilant,” Lactao said, even as he allayed fears about the possible inclusion of the city in the list of those cities facing threats of terrorist attacks.
He said based on military intelligence, only one cell of the supposed Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist organization whose top leaders are Indonesians recruiting members in the city, was operating in the Davao Region last year.
However, only one among the five members of the group remains at large after three others have been arrested while one was killed in Pantukan, Compostela Valley. He said the military has also intensified its intelligence gathering to preempt any terror attempt against the city.
Lactao’s command was created in 2003 when two powerful explosions in the city’s airport and wharf resulted in the death of 38 people and injuries to about 20 others. The explosions took place a month apart.
The heightening of the alert level came about after a government official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said military intelligence units reported that the explosions were the handiwork of Jemaah Islamiyah members who had just finished their bomb-making training somewhere in Central Mindanao.
But Lactao did not want to confirm the report, adding “Let us just accept the report because I am not in a position to confirm or deny it.”
Business sector remains calm despite bombings
JICA holds briefing on dev’t assistance
THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently conducted the first regional briefing on its Country Assistance and Rolling Plan (CARP) for Mindanao at the Convention Hall, NEDA-RDC 11 Center, Bangkal, Davao City.
The JICA team was led by Masafumi Nagaishi, senior representative from the JICA Philippine office. Joining the team were Akiko Abe, country officer for Southeast Asia based at JICA Tokyo headquarters, and JICA program officers from the JICA Davao field office led by Akira Goto. The briefing was attended by twenty five participants from the national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and local government units of the Davao Region.
Regional director Maria Lourdes D. Lim of NEDA 22 said that the briefing was an offshoot of the recently ratified Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) between the Philippine and Japanese governments and for JICA to brief the NEDA regional offices on the thrusts of JICA after its merger with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in October 2008. She added that Davao Region is fortunate to host the first regional briefing for the JICA’s Country Assistance Program and Rolling Plan. She said that this kind of briefing is usually conducted at the national level.
During the briefing, Nagaishi stressed that JICA’s assistance will focus on conflict affected areas of Mindanao. He said that the assistance involves three pillars, namely: Sustainable Economic Growth aimed at creating employment opportunities, poverty reduction, and peace and stability in Mindanao.
Director Lim responded that these three pillars are in line with the goals of the region as spelled out in the updated Davao Region Development Plan (DRDP), 2008-2010 for increased job creation through economic growth, enhanced social development with direct poverty measures and good governance for attaining peace stability and human security.
Nagaishi invited the participants to submit their proposals to JICA for consideration through the NEDA Regional Office 11 or the JICA Davao field office. The NEDA regional office here evaluates project proposals for funding by donor agencies, which include JICA and the Embassy of Japan, through its grassroots grant assistance programs. The project evaluation report of NEDA serves as the main basis in the endorsement of the proposals by the Regional Development Council (RDC) 11. Proposals costing P500 million or above are further evaluated by the NEDA board investment and coordinating committee.
DTI to help Davao SMEs get financing
THE Department of Trade and Industry will help small medium enterprises in the Davao Region in accessing financial services with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
DTI city director Teolulo Pasawa said the BSP have made available the program of surety loan for SMEs to guarantee their access to finance, but borrowers have encountered difficulty due to stiff requirements set by banks.
“Collateral remains a perennial problem for them,” Pasawa said.
He said BSP has put in place groups like Masikap Foundation that would help facilitate SMEs financing.
“The problem results in the poor number of loan takers from the SME sector despite available financial packages being offered by financial institutions,” he added.
Pasawa said a measure in which the private sector such as non-government organizations and foundations will act as conduits for SMEs in gaining financial access is also being worked out. [PNA]
Multi-billion real property boom in Davao region
– P25 billion plus invested in property development
– Thousands of professionals and skilled workers employed
– City government does its share with multi-billion development projects
INVESTMENTS in the billion of pesos continue to pour into the Davao region to develop real property, seemingly oblivious to the raging world economic turmoil.
Big developers
Many of the Philippines’ premiere developers are now in the region pursuing some of the biggest projects ever seen in this part of the country. Most of the projects are in Davao City and the other cities around the Davao Gulf — the Island Garden City of Samal, Panabo and Tagum, the latter three in Davao del Norte, the most progressive of the four Davao provinces.
The big developers, a number of whose projects have been completed and now enjoying brisk sales or are sold out, in alphabetical order, are Ayala Land, Camella Communities, DMCI, Filinvest, Landco, Metro Pacific, Robinsons, SM Investments and Santa Lucia Realty.
Local capitalists
The local investors, made up chiefly of the landed gentry, the nouveau riche, the homegrown developers and grizzled businessmen who have made a fortune in various other businesses, are very much in the fray — either in joint ventures with sleek out-of-towners or on their own using internally-generated resources or borrowed funds.
The locals who have joined the big league – a few of them known for their conservative style of doing business in the past – are the Alcantaras (Northcrest, Woodridge, Fernwood), Damosa Land of the Floirendos (Abreeza, Damosa Gateway, Playa Azalea), the Bangayans (Ocean View and Linmarr Towers), the Tagum Doctors Hospital group (Samal Highlands), the Dizons (Riverfront Corporate City, Crocodile Farm), the Gaisanos, the Lims (NCCC Group), the Yaps (Felcris, Chimes and Convenience Stores), the Uys (Dimdi Group), the children of Kisan Lu (Amiya Resort Residences), Devin Uraya (Urayaland), Henry Lopez Chua (Chula Vista) and the Villa-Abrille heirs.
The projects
The property developers are into building malls, medium rise condominiums, high-end subdivisions, residential resorts, beach resorts, contact centers and other buildings for business process outsourcing centers and hotels. One, Samal Highlands, is developing a 50-hectare property into an island resort with a medical tower, beachfront hotel, and extreme sports facilities, preserving the existing mangroves and mango orchards. Holiday Oceanview Samal of the Bangayans is described as “village, town villas, resort, island spa, marina.”
Easily, all the properties being developed in the Davao area are worth more than P25 billion according to estimates of local business writers who have extensively covered this beat.
According to Carmelito Q. Francisco, managing and business editor of the Mindanao Times who also writes for Business World, thousands of engineers, architects and skilled construction workers have been absorbed by this vibrant sector through direct employment and involvement in secondary businesses.
Why invest in Davao?
“Out-of-town investors are also impressed by the ideal business climate in Davao City and neighboring cities,” said writer Prix Banzon, who has devoted the last five years covering the business beat.
Jerry Navarrete, president of one of the residential and commercial companies of the group of Manny Villar, confirmed Ms. Banzon’s report.
Aside from being one of the most dynamic cities in the Philippines, Navarrete said it is so easy to establish a real estate venture in Davao.
“Bureacratic red tape is non-existent, the rules are clear in the city,” Navarrete said who takes pride in the fact that the Villar group (Camella Communities) is a pioneer in vertical (condominiums) development. Camella is currently building Northpoint, a cluster of condomiums near the Dakudao-Buhangin flyover north of the city hall.
Tristan las Marias, Filinvest vice president for Visayas and Mindanao operations, told a media forum earlier here that his company is into several property projects to “provide prospective buyers a wide array of choices when the economy gets better.”
Aside from Filinvest’s seven low and high-end projects in the region, Las Marias said the company is embarking on two new projects to take shape before the year ends.
He also bared that Filinvest’s One Oasis, a seven-building condominium project beside SM City Davao is “enjoying brisk sales.”
Agatha Ellen S. Valencia, Davao chapter president of the United Architects of the Philippines, said the local property market has remained in good shape, despite the fact that overseas Filipino workers have slowed down in their buying due to retrenchments in their ranks.
Meanwhile, Henry L. Yap, Robinsons Land Corp. vice president for design and planning, told business reporters during the opening of Robinsons Cybergate, a P350-million mixed-use facility in Bajada last month, the company is still looking for more areas in the city and nearby localities to develop.
The quality of manpower needed by new business locators has been identified as a plus factor for Davao City, according to Lizabel “Wit” Holganza, president of ICT Davao, Inc.
City does its share
Local government units (LGUs) are also doing their share in making their localities more investor-friendly.
The city government of Davao, for instance, is currently pursuing the following multi-million-peso projects to improve vital services to its constituents, including business establishments:
Sanitary Landfill Project P265M Urban Drainage and Flood Control Project P250M Traffic Signalization Project P266M Shelter and Urban Land Reform Project P100M
Virtual library seen to boost Davao’s economic potentials
by Lovely A. Carillo
THE pearly white beaches of Mati, the unexplored islands in Kopiat, Davao del Norte and the exotic wonders held by the pristine clean waters of Samal Island will soon be within the reach of your fingers.
Investors and tourists looking for information about the Davao Region can now find what they want to know without having to leave heir homes. This is made possible through the so-called “virtual library”where they can access the Internet right in the privacy and comfort of where they live or hold office.
The Davao Region Geographic Information Network, or DR-GIN, is a P5 million project that aims to strengthen the presence of the Davao Region online. It’s kilometric name aside, the virtual library helps promote local and regional development through information sharing.
“It is expected to facilitate the promotion of the region’s localities for trade, investment and tourism and cater to the needs of the private sector for business planning and research,” DR-GIN chairperson and National Economic Development Authority 11 director Maria Lourdes Lim said.
The virtual library project became official after the signing last June 23 of the a morandum of agreement between the different local executives of the Davao Region as well as the regional directors and office heads of the involved national agencies to include the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Finance, National Statistical Coordination Board and NEDA among others.
Armed with geo-referenced information on the region’s business and investment prospects as well as bio-geophysical, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, investors can easily pinpoint and decide which areas of investment they can pour their money into. The easily-available information and economic profile will provide a one-stop information center which will aid investors in their market research and business planning.
Each of the signatories, Lim said, has agreed to “provide technical expertise and financial assistance as well as contribute to the pool of information technology resources for possible linkages and utilization in the regional GIS.”
Lim said the virtual library project will specifically address issues involving data gaps, duplicating data for specific indicators and other issues that usually lead to confusion and faulty data analysis by both government and the private sector.
While there is available virtual information about the different areas of the Davao Region, these are scattered information that sometimes contain conflicting data leading to confusion among future investors and tourists. Lim said they expect to remedy this by unifying the region’s major data sources into the DR-Gin Network.
Under the project, the network of local government units, the regional offices of the national government agencies, the congressional district offices and the private sector will make available up-to-date, accurate and reliable information about the Davao Region.
With exhaustive information easily accessible to investors, the region can expect more investor interest in the region which can translate to more actual investments and tourist visits.
“Aside from facilitating the promotion of the region’s localities for trade, investment and promotion, the project will also respond to the professional and business information needs of the region’s private sector for research, business planning and investments,” Lim said.
The project will not forever be at the mercy of available government funds since they have already planned strategies for its sustainability. In the long term, DR-GIN will expand its operations and will provide other IT services for a fee such as web mail, web hosting, online advertisements, video and teleconferencing and related ECT capability trainings.
GSMA introduces premier mobile money community
– Visa and Globe Telecom named as first two founding partners
THE GSMA, the body that represents the worldwide mobile communications industry, announced the launch of the Mobile Money Exchange initiative at the Annual Mobile Money Summit in Barcelona.
Visa and Globe Telecom are the first two founding partners of the Mobile Money Exchange, which has been launched to engage with new stakeholders and sectors that are entering the mobile ecosystem.
Through this initiative, the GSMA is helping financial services companies who are entering the mobile environment, by providing a common voice and formal business forum for business collaboration. The ethos behind the formation of the Exchange is for best practice and innovations to be highlighted and shared, both across industry and inter-industry. The Mobile Money Exchange will feature an online knowledge portal with social business networking and community functionality designed to advise and serve the interests of the mobile money industry.
“Mobile Money Exchange builds on the Mobile Money Program that the GSMA launched in 2006 and which has been a tremendous success in terms of building a global community,” said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer, GSMA. “Through the Mobile Money Exchange, fundamental principles and requirements which are not currently being met, such as fragmentation and therefore lack of ability to scale, will be addressed and the Exchange will advance, advise and serve the interests of the mobile money market.”
“As a founding partner, Visa looks forward to helping drive thought leadership and industry participation in the Mobile Money Exchange program in collaboration with the GSMA,” said Tim Attinger, Global Head of Product Development for Visa Inc.
“We congratulate GSMA for the foresight to build on its successful Mobile Money Transfer initiative to this new Mobile Money Exchange program,” said Globe Telecom President and CEO Mr. Ernest L. Cu. “At Globe we have been constantly involved in global initiatives to hasten the advancement of mobile money and moves to position it into a mainstream business line not only for telcos but for the financial services industry as well. Being a Founding Partner in this umbrella program provides us an avenue to collaborate with experts and stakeholders in the mobile commerce space to come closer to this objective,” he added.
The Mobile Money Exchange is open to any organization and seeks to establish a broad-based stakeholder community that comprises key areas of mobile money including mPayments, mBanking, MMU (Mobile Money for the Unbanked) and MMT (Mobile Money Transfer). It will facilitate new partnerships and business models, drive thought leadership, champion innovation and knowledge transfer through engaging all elements of the mobile money industry. The Mobile Money Exchange will have an Advisory Board consisting of a select number of thought leaders to shape and develop the Exchange, working alongside discussion groups and committees who collaboratively set guidelines, standards and best practice.
The saga of DDH: 40 Years of Healthcare Leadership
FOUR decades after it opened as a pharmacy and a clinic, Davao Doctors Hospital remains as the leading healthcare provider in Davao City, providing only the best service, equipment, and expertise in Mindanao.
Complemented by state-of-the-art equipment and amenities, Davao Doctors Hospital is a standing beacon of medical expertise in Davao City and the rest of Mindanao.
Would you believe that this modern complex with a 10 storey medical tower and 5-storey, state-of-the-art tertiary hospital started out as a mere pharmacy with clinics in 1966, carrying the name Clinica Hilario, Inc.?
Dr. Honorio Hilario, a clinical practitioner and proprietor of Botica Villa, a small drugstore located along Claveria (now C.M. Recto) Street), invited Dr. Luisito Guanlao, a neurosurgeon, to set up a clinic inside the pharmacy since it was more practical and lucrative to have a clinic near a pharmacy in those days. Later, the thought of having a doctor’s clinic near a drugstore looked promising which led to other specialists setting up their offices one after the other, namely: Dr. Herminio Villano, Dr. Carmen Guanlao, Dr. Juan Belisario, Dr. Benigno Magpantay, Dr. Romeo Mahinay, Dr. Pacita San Vicente, Dr. Augusto Abela, and Dr. Eufracio Hilario. Dr. Jose Gantioqui, the only radiologist in Mindanao at the time, relocated his x-ray machine at Clinica Hilario, Inc.
In 1965, the Clinica Hilario Laboratory was established with Dr. German Castillo. Other incorporators began joining the group after being sold to the idea of a hospital housing doctors’ clinics. In 1969, Davao Doctors Hospital ushered in the birth of quality healthcare service in Davao City and its neighboring provinces.
Surprisingly, the public immediately expressed full support for the new hospital with corporate accounts for health and wellness constantly increasing within the first year of the hospital’s operations.
In 1973, the bed capacity of the hospital increased to 108 with the conversion of some rooms into wards while hospital facilities were continually upgraded with the purchase of equipment for the intensive care unit.
The neighboring 1,200-square meter property of Roman Joaquin was acquired by the hospital as a result of the growing demand for more hospital space and beds.
Davao Doctors Hospital aggressively expanded horizontally in the years that followed with its acquisition of surrounding properties for the construction of a 5-storey Annex building.
Diversifying its portfolio, yet remaining true to its commitment of providing quality healthcare for its clients, Davao Doctors Hospital opened its nursing school in 1975.
The hospital, like any other business institution, also experienced trying times. Due to the unstable economic conditions the country experienced at the start of the 1980’s, the purchase of high-end, sophisticated machines and gadgets had to be held in abeyance while resigned personnel in some non-sensitive areas were not immediately replaced. In 1982, there was a reduction in terms of occupancy rate from 84.48% to 75.55%, resulting in the drop of the net income to 57%.
However, with the full trust and confidence of Dabawenyos in the hospital, the management of Davao Doctors Hospital saw to it that only the best equipment was acquired, thus the constant upgrading of laboratory equipments and other facilities, like x-rays, ultra sound, and other equipment for gastrology and cardiology, despite the economic crisis.
To ensure that efficient service was constantly provided, the finance and administration departments of the DDH underwent upgrading of their operating system through the use of the more technologically capable IBM system in 1986 along with elevators in the annex building.
Not resting on its laurels, the DDH acquired in August 1990 a Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan, the most sophisticated and ultimate at the time among imaging machines. It was the first and only one of its kind in Mindanao.
Fully committed to the improvement of the healthcare industry in Davao City and the rest of the Mindanao region, the hospital invested in several new equipments in 1997. The investment did not only bring Davao Doctors Hospital to the forefront of the medical industry in Mindanao, it also boosted the confidence of the people in the capability of the hospital to providr quality healthcare.
Maintaining the status as the best in Davao City and Mindanao, Davao Doctors Hospital invested heavily in more equipments like an MRI, Ultrasound, Echocardiogram, Hematology Analyzer Coulter, a Siemens Sireshop X-ray, and respirators.
The hospital has proven that nothing is impossible and that there can only be growth for the healthcare industry of Davao City. This was shown by management when it decided to construct a ten-storey medical tower which changed the skyline of Davao City and, more importantly, improved the quality of healthcare available in the city.
Boasting of posh clinics and a glass façade, the medical tower of Davao Doctors Hospital is its beacon of leadership in the healthcare sector. No other single structure in the entire region houses as many medical professionals whose lines of expertise are beyond reproach.
It may have seemed that that Davao Doctors Hospital had reached its peak of performance and service when it built its 10-storey tower, but it was merely the beginning of things yet to come.
In 2000, Davao Doctors Hospital became the first private tertiary hospital in the region to have acquired international recognition for excellence in service, total quality healthcare, and quality education when it was awarded an ISO 9001 Certification in December 9, 2000. The hospital delivered on its certification and was later upgraded to ISO 9001:2000 in March 27, 2002, and maintained its status in 2003.
Medical practitioners from all over Mindanao have opted to practice at Davao Doctors Hospital as it continues to rival the best in hospitals not only in Metro Manila but also other hospitals in the ASEAN region.
Enticing more doctors to practice at Davao Doctors Hospital, management paved the way for the acquisition of a P18.5 million Cath Lab in 2003. Another first in Mindanao, the Cath Lab shows that Davao Doctors Hospital is a center of excellence where experts are complemented by the best technology available.
Being the undisputed leader in the industry, Davao Doctors Hospital eventually gained larger prospects when one of the largest conglomerates in the country, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, obtained 34 percent of the hospital’s shareholdings. The leading hospital of Mindanao was then taken into the fold of MPIC headed by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
With over 250 beds and the most modern diagnostic, therapeutic, and intensive care facilities, Davao Doctors Hospital remains the leader in all medical specialties, including cardiovascular medicine, gastroenterology and endocrinology, orthopedics, neurology and neurosurgery, cancer, ophthalmology, and digestive and liver diseases.
The future looks bright for Davao Doctors Hospital as MPIC vows to bring in the expertise and commitment to excellence it is best known for.
Now at 40, DDH is an institution reborn. We now begin our quest for greater success in making a significant impact on the lives of all Filipinos here in Mindanao. We will continue to make a difference by improving the quality of life of all our patients. We commit ourselves to this noble task; we can do no less because, here at DDH, We Care for Life.
Taking notch higher
AFTER 40 years of quality caring of Dabawenyos, the Davao Doctors Hospital is taking the notch higher in service excellence with its constant upgrading of the hospital’s medical equipments and more importantly, the perpetual updating of the the hospital’s most important asset, the medical staff.
More than the expertise of the medical practitioners, it is their personal healing touch that really counts.
This month of July, the DDH will kick off its 40th anniversary celebration with the unveiling of a “new look” that will exemplify its ceaseless caring for the community’s health.
Staying true to this mantra, DDH has lined up a series of free clinics for the last half of 2009.
A thanksgiving mass was held on the morning of July 3 followed by a Shareholders’ Lunch at10 AM. July 4 featured the President’s Cup Basketball Championship and on July 6 the story of Davao Doctors Hospital as told in photograpghs via the Anniversary Exhibit unveiled.
The kick-off of the series of medical activities follows:.July 6 to10 the Nutrition Screening with Lay Fora on Diabetes and Weight Management while on July 8 will be the 3M Health Awareness Day followed on July 16 by the DDH Pediatrics department their free clinic.
Davao BPO players tell realty developers: “Be more aggressive!”
– City only has four PEZA-accredited areas
– ICT Summit 2009 set in Davao, August 6-7
by Lovely A. Carillo
REAL estate developers “must be more aggressive in order to help the local business process outsourcing (BPO) sector of Davao City become a major player in the country’s BPO industry.”
Thus spoke Lizabel “Wit” G. Holganza, president of the ICT Davao Inc. (IDI), who added that Davao City is among the 2008 Top 10 Philippine IT-BPO Destinations, having been ranked by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippies (BPAP) as Number 4 out of the 37 Philippine cities during the first BPO summit last December.
“Despite this seemingly enviable position, in reality Davao City only has a one percent market share of the total industry,” Holganza said.
“While we have recently seen a 56 percent growth in the number of IT-BPO jobs in the city, we can still further realize our city’s full potentials in the areas of human resource and real estate development,” she said.
CICT closely monitors the development of the Philippine Cyber Corridor which is fifth out of the five economic super regions created by Executive Order No. 561 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on August 19, 2006, to include the Northern Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines and Agribusiness Mindanao.
“But we don’t want to be just in the top 10; we want to be in the same place as Manila and Cebu,” Holganza said.
She said a maturing real estate industry which provides the building and spaces for call and other BPO centers will help the city become more competitive, especially in realizing its goal of being at par with Manila, which is not only the center of the country’s BPO industry but is also one of the world’s top offshore destinations.
“Davao already has an edge over Manila and Cebu when it comes to the price of real estate, even if Manila has reduced costs to get more BPO companies to invest,” Holganza said. While Manila’s real estate rate is pegged at P800 per square meter Davao City provides a competitive edge with an average rate of P300 to P400 per square meter.
The city’s real estate players, however, seem to be playing a wait and see game and are hesitant about investing in real estate space until they get commitments from BPO companies that will locate in the city. Holganza said the city’s real estate sector should already prepare the infrastructure, because BPO firms prefer to invest in areas where they can relocate in one or two months.
Lack of PEZA
accredited zones
Aside from the seemingly wait and see attitude of the real estate players in the city, the lack of PEZA-accredited special economic zones in Davao City is also considered a setback for the city’s BPO sector.
Locators prefer to invest in PEZA zones because these special economic areas offer very competitive incentives, non-stop and one-stop shops and sans graft and corruption as well as bureaucratic red tape.
Information technology services that derive at least 70% of their total revenues from foreign clients are among the activities eligible for approval as a PEZA area. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority provides that among the IT-enabled services that can qualify for incentives are transcription services, business process outsourcing, data encoding, call centers, content development and software development, among others.
Holganza said Manila has a total of 68 PEZA-accredited sites and Cebu has 21. However, she said, Davao City has only four PEZA-accredited areas, including Damosa, Robinsons Cybergate, NCCC — and Sun City, which is not even active.
“Iloilo and Bacolod have more PEZA-accredited sites than Davao.” Holganza said. The city’s ICT sector is thus encouraging more technology parks and more ready spaces in the city to accommodate BPO companies that would like to invest here.
To boost its goal of being at par with Manila and Cebu’s BPO sectors, ICT Davao is hosting the ICT Summit 2009 on August 6 to 7. With the theme “Roadmap 2015L Empowering Davao through Information and Communications Technology”, the ICT sector aims to bring together both the private and public sectors to create a blueprint for the BPO industry.
Holganza said the Summit is targeting around 250 participants from the following sectors: IT entrepreneurs, potential investors, the academe, industry stakeholders, local and national government.
While Davao City’s BPO industry is still miles away by comparison to that of Manila and Cebu, the expectation is that it will actually get there, and soon. However, this cannot be done without the support of the government and the private sector, especially the real estate players.
Confession of a Partyphile – The best teacher
by Zhaun Ortega
I LEARNED early in life that “experience is the best teacher“. I’ve heard it many times over in the movies, I’ve read it on those generic cardboard cards my Aunts used to send me during my high school retreats, I have even received an antique Friendster testimonial with just that line written on it, glammed up with glitters and roses, as if that would make the line even more believable.
So, no, I’m not going to put you through that all over again. This article isn’t at all about experience. It is about a real teacher, an instructor, a second mother.
Ever since I could remember, I didn’t really take a liking towards the teachers that I was forced to deal with as a student. It didn’t help that the teacher who greeted me on my first day in “big school” was butt-ugly and resembled Skeletor (of course, I now know it wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t exactly attractive to all seven year olds), and that she labeled me as a disturbed child (she asked us to color the first page of our Religion book. I picked Black and stuck with it until every nook and cranny of the page looked like a lump of coal. She says that is tantamount to disturbia).
I was always a bit rebellious; I hated almost every authority figure I was faced with, and my teachers were always the easiest target.
I had always thought that teachers just did what they had to do–for a living. I never really believed the crap that that people said about teachers teaching as a vocation. I never took time to really get to know my teachers and I really didn’t appreciate the real person behind the android who was yapping away in front of me everyday for 10 months.
That all changed when I met Ms Corbit.
She was my Math teacher in 3rd year High School. I belonged to a class filled with wild weirdos. We ate popcorn and chips during History class (the teacher didn’t exactly enjoy that our chewing didn’t have a “silent mode”). Half of the class excused themselves to “urinate”, whenever we had a quiz (trust me, I am not exaggerating). We passed around glasses of coke during Chemistry class; one of my classmates even threw a bag of Lifesavers in the air for all of us to catch during an exam. We slept and snored during Religion class; we held fashion shows and walk-offs during Filipino class; we made, ate and shared sandwiches during English. We were every teacher’s nightmare.
We intentionally did those to annoy our teachers so they would stop all their (seemingly) senseless blabber and we could finally be heard, or maybe get some sleep. But not during Math. We loved Ms Corbit. She respected us, and we, in turn, respected her.
One day, one of my classmates asked her “why?” “Why study Math and functions, formulas, and computations, when we know we wouldn’t need them in the ‘Real World’?”
The question was familiar. Every smart-alecky classmate I had since Grade 5 had already asked our Math teacher this same question. Our teachers usually answered, irritably saying “that is what is required by CHED”, “that is what the head teacher tells us to teach”, or “that is what is written in the prospectus”.
Sometimes, we’d fell insulted that our teacher didn’t trust our intellectual capabilities to understand the co0mplexities of the Educational system in the country. Sometimes, we’d think our teacher was just as clueless as we were about the matter. But most of the time, we would just shrug it off. We were so used to this type of answer. We didn’t even bother to pry further on the topic because, well, we were disappointed and it just seemed to piss our teachers off.
But unlike all other Math teachers before, Ms Corbit seemed unfazed by the question. She actually seemed to welcome it. And then she smiled and said:
“We do not teach you all these formulas and theories because you will need them in your future lives, because, honestly, I don’t really think you would. However, without you knowing it, Math has already taught you how to analyze, to solve problems on your own. You may not know it or realize it now, but Math has already helped you improve your common sense. And that is what you will need later on in life. And that is why I try to teach you Math. You may not memorize the formulas and the theories, but the way I may help mold your mind, that is what I truly want to impart to you.”
I don’t know if those were her exact words, or if she had said it as eloquently, but that was certainly the message she wanted to get across. And for the first time I had fallen in love with the concept of a teacher who truly wanted to be our second Mother.
I felt like she truly wanted to look after us, and wanted to look out for us even after the school year was over.
I still suck at Math, I never really mastered those formulas and concepts, and I still have no Mathematical inclinations to speak of, but Ms Corbit left me with one of the more powerful lessons I’ve learned.
MShe taught me to look at the bigger picture. She taught me to never stop asking, she taught me the value of independence, she taught me not to settle until I am truly satisfied. More importantly, she taught me that teachers are supposed to be friends, not annoying, androidical (emotionless, heartless, unsympathetic) enemies.
And only a great teacher can teach you all those, with five heartfelt teacher.
Confession:
I am writing this to inspire teachers to do better and to treat students with the same respect that they would require from them. Please do not underestimate your students, they are usually wiser than you imagine.
To all the students: try to appreciate your teachers. They are real people who can commit mistakes. I didn’t believe it at first, but I have actually created special friendships with my teachers after Ms Corbit. So please give your teachers a break, and a chance. Get to know them more, not only as the people who will be responsible for grading you, but for the people who will have touched your journey through life with ideas, challenges and, maybe even, a special friendship.
Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) on 105.9 Mix FM (www.mixfm1059.com) every Wednesdays, 6 to 9 in the PM.
For comments, suggestions, questions (your queries are more than welcome) and more confessions from this Partyphile log on to http://party.i.ph.
And please add me up on Plurk, I’m in terrible need of a Karma increase. http://www.plurk.com/zhaun/invite.