Visit Travel Enjoy and Make Business in Davao City

So this will be a travelogue for those who wanted to visit Davao City, Philippines and to those who wanted to know about the city but maybe reluctant to come here. I just hope that this will be comprehensive enough to suit the average traveller’s need for information about my beloved city. There are many visitors here everyday to do business or plain leisure, so it’s time you should come here too.

Davao City had gone a long way since lifting of Martial Law in 1986 and still growing. When the Philippines was once an American colony at the turn of the 20^th century, they called Davao as the “Land of Promise”. It is indeed promising. In fact, it was named one of the most liveable cities in the country and in Asia (I’m not just sure if it did reach top position for the world wide category). Furthermore, it has the best drinking water flowing on the tap, one of the most environmentally-friendly as well as Child-friendly, and claimed to be one of the largest cities in terms of land area – not really urbanized area. It offers many opportunities for business, leisure, education and investments – to name a few.

Okay, much has been said here, let’s start with the geography and some side-topics along the way. I will write a separate article about a short history of the city. There’s not much to say about the history of Davao City though, because many historians are still putting together a comprehensive one. So it’s more important to put first the overview of the site. This will just act as a fish-eye view as an introduction.

Davao City is found in the south-eastern part of the Philippines, located in the biggest island of the country – Mindanao. It has a land area of about 2,244 hectares with urban centres and rural areas combining leisure get-away and business access. It is accessible through air travel, land and sea having the major ports in the region – whichever suits you as means of transportation, you can choose from the three.

The city faces in the south-east the Gulf of Davao, a continuation of the Sea of Borneo. Looking out from the beach lines of Davao City, one could see some group of islands at a distant facing it and a narrow strait exists in the gulf. This group of islands belongs to the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS as an acronym), another vacation and investment destination accessible through Davao City (if you wanted to go there too). Along the beach lines are urban centers and sea-ports.

Davao City is divided into three congressional districts. These districts are divided, as far as I know, for a general special land-use zoning; they have no specific governance anyway but are bases for electing Representatives in the Congress (the lower house of the bi-cameral legislative system) – these legislators are commonly called congressmen/women. The First District is generally intended for commercial land-use, thus this is the urban business center of the city. This district occupied the eastern area where establishments, not only intended for business but also the political and government seat and offices are found. The City Hall, the Sangguniaang Panlungsod (City Legislative Office) and most national government agency offices are found here.

Before we get into the Second District, let me tell you that these congressional districts are also further divided into Political Districts. The same with the former, it has no specific governance and are also bases for land-use zoning. Thus the First District is divided into two – namely, Poblacion District (Poblacion is a Spanish term roughly equivalent to “downtown”) and Talomo District. These are urbanized areas intermixed for commercial and residential purposes (especially Talomo District one of the city’s district with many housing sites).

Now the Second District occupies the northern part of the city. It is a gateway to regions north of Davao City, bordering the Municipality of Carmen of the Province of Davao del Norte. This district is mainly for Industrial land-use and of course, you can see most of the big factories out here. From cement to steel and some other industrial products are made here giving jobs to most people in the technical professions. In this area too you can find the Davao International Airport, Davao City Port and other smaller ports going to IGaCoS. It is further divided into four political districts – Agdao, Sasa, Buhangin and Paquibato districts. The same with the First District, these areas also has residential sites.

Finally, the Third District can be found in the southern part of the city of mostly rural areas. The district is purposely for agricultural development, fisheries and scientific research (for agriculture). The district is divided into Tugbok, Calinan, Baguio, Marilog and Toril districts being gateways to three provinces bordering them. Going farther south we can find Toril district. This is a coastal area with a growing urban center and rural peripheries – where fisheries and aquaculture is based, the main source of fish and seafood supply for the city and other neighboring regions. This district borders the Municipality of Santa Cruz of the Province of Davao del Sur.

Moving back and to the west, we will reach Tugbok district first. This district is home of two agricultural research facilities namely Philippine Coconut Authority for the study of coconut, and Bureau of Plant Industry for plant research and seed bank. Then, moving further is Calinan, Baguio and Marilog Districts. Marilog district is the largest district so far and borders Arakan Valley of the Province of Cotabato on its southern side and the Municipality of Kitaotao of the Province of Bukidnon in the western side. These districts are mostly rural and collectively the food basket of the city and other neighboring areas. All these districts are also sites of field research.

Davao City has varied terrains from the very low land area, only 3 meters above sea level to the mountainous, about 500 meters above sea level. It enjoys a year-long supply of rain especially during night time, at an average of two pours in a week; and a sunny day time. With mountains and seashores you can chose from staying in the beach or spending some quiet time in with nature. As mentioned, you don’t have to worry about water for there is an abundant supply and plenty to spend time to.

How about the people? Expect a smile, cozy and warm welcome from the Davaoeños. With approximately 2 million inhabitants, you will not be short of people to help you along. There are plenty of services for vacationers and plenty to employ for those who wanted to establish a business venture here. In fact, the Chinese took that advantage long ago and they are still coming in to do business along with the Japanese. Koreans are newer visitors just keep surging since the turn of the 21^st century. Americans and occasional Europeans are also doing business and taking their relaxing times here.

Language is not a problem too. Almost all can understand and speak conversational English but Spanish has almost lost its footing in the tongues of the people. The majority speaks Visayan with a uniquely Davaoeño twist (mixing broken Tagalog and Cebuano with a bit of English and other native languages; while Cebuano used some Spanish terms, it also seeped through the Davao City language); of course, we can speak our National Language. It’s not a wonder too that many can speak different languages such as Chinese, mostly Mandarin and Fukien; Japanese and Korean and other European languages owing to the surge of migrants here of such descents.

There are plenty of expatriates here, you know. I don’t know what kept them here – you might as well visit our city to judge for yourself.

So that’s a bit of an introduction. You can say that it’s quite long but that’s not just it. More will be coming and we haven’t touched holiday destinations yet – mind you. History is of significance too, so that you can understand the culture of the people. Thus expect more to come in this Travelogue.