Destination: Davao!

[dwardwarbinx]

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kinsa kabalo ug cheap(est) places to stay in davao? para bilinan lang jud ug gamit niya katulgan kadali ug kaliguan. hehehe. help!

[zildjansg]

The best ang white water rafting sa davao(with their faciclities and well experienced guides),the best pud ang mga dive sites for SCUBA divers(Dive shops are just near the wharf)..the best ang food,ang beach!..pati night life!

angay jud ika pang garbo!

[zildjansg]

kinsa kabalo ug cheap(est) places to stay in davao? para bilinan lang jud ug gamit niya katulgan kadali ug kaliguan. hehehe. help!

dagahan mga barato na inns ug appartlle sa davao madam nga naa ra sa tunga sa syudad..na limot lang kos ngan ato..basta duol lang to sa JS ilustre nga mall unya duol ras botica..

[DVOGuy]

Davao, the largest city in the world, is most competitive city in the country today surpassing Manila and Cebu based on AIM Study.

Davao City: most competitive in RP

Another metric by which Davao City can proudly affirm her status as a major player in Philippine industry is the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Program (PCCRP) of the Policy Center of the Asian Institute of Management. Results of the PCCRP’s biennial study (2007), presented in Makati last 4 July 2008, declare that Davao ranks Number 1 in the metro cities category.

This flagship research project by the AIM, established in 1999, is conducted every two years, and has since become a benchmark of Philippine cities’ overall economic standing. To quote the AIM:

…the Program envisions to promote national competitiveness by encouraging healthy competition among highly urbanized and emerging cities, emphasizing the crucial roles of small and medium enterprises as the backbone of local development. By gathering and compiling strategic data and providing focused analyses of the results, the PCCRP also seeks to cultivate competitive industries, promote healthy communities and maximize the economic potentials of the cities.

This should be another reason for Dabawenyos to be proud of their beloved city. And it should be one more indicator of just how viable Davao is as an investment destination.

I have recently been to Lapu-Lapu, Makati and Quezon City, and the progress in those cities is clearly evident. Still, Davao City tops them all in the 2007 survey. The PCCRP includes the following criteria in its study: dynamism of local economy, cost of doing business, infrastructure, human resources and training, responsiveness of LGU to business needs and quality of life.

Dynamism of local economy / Cost of doing business / Infrastructure. There certainly is much dynamism in Davao’s local economy, as evidenced by an ongoing construction boom, and the entry of new industry players such as call centers and other BPO operators.

Human resources and training. Davao is a favorite hunting ground among headhunters, and the hiring rate of Dabawenyos is reportedly high. Call centers (e.g., Concentrix and People Support) view their Davao staff as highly trainable.

Responsiveness of LGU to business needs. Davao’s local government is the first to establish a "911" emergency response service, which is being supported by the Davao Light and Power Company. Aside from this, the LGU maintains very good working relationships with private enterprises and organizations.

Quality of life. Just read this blog and my readers’ comments… Need I say more?

Davao is a global BPO & ICT hub favorite

Davao City has been named as one of the world’s best investment sites for business process outsourcing (BPO) industries and global offshore ICT hubs.

This was contained in a study conducted by the European Union-based XMG Global ICT Research and Advisory Service.

The other “emerging offshoring cities” cited in the global study together with Davao include Casablanca in Morocco, Montevideo in Uruguay and Jakarta in Indonesia.

XMG-Global public affairs officer Pierre Boudreau said foreign researchers and BPO executives who took part in the worldwide study are “very bullish about Davao City” due to the area’s large population of untapped English-speaking students and graduates compared to Cebu in the central Philippines and the country’s capital city of Manila, where competition for qualified staff among BPO companies are fierce and the number of call centers and ICTs are nearing “saturation point”.

“We’re impressed by the huge untapped manpower base in Davao. This will be very attractive to many BPO companies in US and Europe planning to locate and expand their operations in the Philippines,” Boudreau said.

This was confirmed by Teolulo Pasawa, head of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (NERBAC), a special unit of the Davao region’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that helps new BPO investors set up call centers and other ICT businesses in the city.

“There are many schools, colleges, universities and training centers in Davao today producing thousands of qualified graduates for the BPO industry,” Pasawa said.

The XMG-Global ICT study show that the city of Davao alone is annually producing a much higher number of IT and BPO qualified graduates than the cities of Subic, Clark and Baguio in central and northern Luzon.

Davao has 689 percent more graduates than Subic, 278 percent more than Clark and 40 percent more than Baguio,

“This is not even taking into account the manpower pool at the nearby provinces, towns and small cities like Tagum, Panabo in Davao del Norte; Digos, Bansalan in Davao del Sur; Mati in Davao Oriental; and Compostela Valley which are also producing thousands of qualified graduates yearly,” Boudreau said.

The worldwide study highlighted the population of Davao City (1.4 million) as “considerably higher than other Tier-2 offshoring cities globally”.

In the Philippines, Davao City’s population is 71 percent bigger than Cebu City, 499 percent larger than Olongapo City in Subic, 333 percent higher than Angeles City in Clark and 340 percent bigger than Baguio City.

Davao City’s estimated workforce, according to the study, is twice that of Cebu, 9 times bigger than Subic, 7 times bigger than Clark and 6 times bigger than Baguio.

Modern telecom facilities, transportation networks and public transport systems are already in place in Davao, according to Boudreau, “but there’s still a lot of room to further improve and modernize these facilities and services.”

To attract more BPO and ICT locators to Davao, XMG Researcher Camille Lumbang urged both the government and the private sector “to act together with plans and programs to boost the overall image of Davao” as a top investment site for ICT and BPO businesses.

According to Lumbang, foreign BPO executives are amazed that while Davao is now identified as one of the best sites for BPO and ICT investments, “it has not yet sunk in the minds of local officials as they still could hardly believe the distinction bestowed on Davao City.”

(Courtesy of Aurelio A. Pena, PNA)


Current projects:

SM City North Davao to rise in Davao City in 2010
October 26, 2008

It’s confirmed, SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall developer in the Philippines included in their list of future malls the planned SM City North Davao. It is expected to open in 2010. Though no press release has yet been made, it is apparent that the former Lanang Golf and Country Club is now being restructured.

It is twice the size of SM City Davao which only has a land area of 132,000sq.m. and Gross floor area of 75,440 sq.m.; the SM City North Davao will be erected within the land area of 640,000sq.m. and the mall itself will have a Gross floor area of 175,000sq.m.

So we are not just expecting Gaisano Mall of Davao (200, Abreeza Mall (2010), and Robinson’s Cybergate Davao (2009) to open but also SM City North Davao (2010).

ABREEZA



Abreeza — Davao’s own Greenbelt
Blogie 25 September 2008
PRESS RELEASE

The much-awaited Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Anflocor project took a significant stride with a groundbreaking ceremony held on site last 23 September 2008 for their joint venture dubbed as Abreeza.



The ceremony was attended by ALI & Anflocor executives and guests, who witnessed Anflocor Chairman of the Board Antonio O. Floirendo Sr., Ayala Corp. Chairman of the Board Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, Ayala Land Chairman of the Board Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land President Jaime I. Ayala, Ayala Malls and Ayala Businesscapes Group Head Ma. Victoria E. Añonuevo, Head of Ayala Land Vis-Min Emilio J. Tumbocon, Anflocor Vice Chairman Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., Anflocor President Alexander Valoria, Anflocor Senior Vice President Ricardo R. Floirendo, Anflocor Directors Ma. Cristina R. Brias and Vicente R. Floirendo, with Davao City Administrator Wendell Avisado, break the ground at the Abreeza site along J. P. Laurel Avenue to formally signal the start of building work for the joint venture.



Abreeza is the first major entry project of Ayala Land, Inc. in Davao City. When completed, Abreeza is envisioned to be an integrated mixed-used development that will innovate the city’s urban landscape. It will include a three-storey shopping mall, two Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) buildings and, in the future, a hotel and residential and commercial lots. The first BPO building will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009 while the first phase of the mall will open in the fourth quarter of 2010.

* * * * *
Abreeza is not the Ayalas’ first development in Davao City, however. We mustn’t forget that the venerable Insular Hotel (now owned and operated by the Waterfront chain) was built by the Ayala family. The high-end Insular villages were also theirs, as well as the Insular Life and BPI buildings.

During the press conference on the same day, this time held at the Pearl Farm Marina, ALI President Jim Ayala, Anflocor Senior VP Ricky Floirendo and the other executives of these two corporations related how Abreeza will become a business-cum-leisure center that Dabawenyos will be proud of. If we are to base our expectations on Makati’s Greenbelt, Abreeza is certainly something to look forward to — in two short years!

The representatives who were at the presscon were the decision-makers of the joint venture, and so the media — as well as the bloggers — were able to glean juicier details than what was printed on the press releases. For example, Jim Ayala revealed that the total project cost up to 2011 will be Php 4 to 5 billion (but the question regarding ROI was predictably left unanswered).

Also, and this is something that I’m sure we will all appreciate, Abreeza will reportedly have around 20% of the 10-hectare property dedicated to open spaces. Think of those beautiful gardens and parks that dot the five Greenbelts in Makati.

Davao City has long been identified as a favorable investment destination for BPO companies, as well as a viable source of skilled manpower. Thus, Abreeza’s first finished product will be the 10,000-sqm building reserved for BPO and IT firms. The executives said that there have already been inquiries from such operators who have existing deployments in other ALI properties.

Prompted by questions from the press and from yours truly, the executives of ALI and Anflocor also talked about their dealings with the city government. Jim Ayala, who reiterated his company’s confidence in the city’s peace & order stability, also discussed plans to address the flooding situation along J. P. Laurel Avenue, as well as other plans to ensure the success of Abreeza’s development.

The entry of Ayala Land, in partnership with Anflocor, is a gleaming beacon of investor confidence in Davao City. Progress is inexorably in our midst.

The name Abreeza was coined from "breeze" and the Italian word for embrace, "abbraccio".

Robinsons Cybergate Davao




The Gaisano Mall of Davao Expansion
October 18, 2008

Gaisano Mall of Davao aka “G-Mall” is expanding to Sta. Ana Street. The wing expansion will have 7 levels providing additional floor area for shoppers to wander. The mall is simultaneously renovating its interior too making it more pleasant to the eyes of mall goers. Also (though it is still a rumor) when this expansion is finish, a 6 level structure will rise on the other side of the existing building. The management is aiming for a complete new package, a bigger and better mall for its patrons. (Oct. 26) The construction is in full throttle as workers continue building the project even during night.

[xkenikensx]

nice try,

having those kinda stuffs still doesn't make you the best city to live in,

[moz_k2]

murag panguntra napud ni sa lain nga thread da.

[digitalsuperman]

murag masuko taga CDO ani nga claim da..

[moz_k2]

murag masuko taga CDO ani nga claim da..

OT
mao jud bay
labi na si _________
hehehe

[rocketvision]

nice try,

having those kinda stuffs still doesn't make you the best city to live in,

Those posts were based on hard facts, and to be honest many consider it the most livable, best city to live in this country by comparison to others so they can have their opinion and you could have yours.

Obviously that may not sound good to some envious Filipinos as this country is known for odious crab mentality attitudes. That's Davao so either take it or leave it. It will be very, very, very fine with people here that the envious and intrigeras need not come to Davao just to look and criticize for her fragile points not constructively but with ulterior utak talangka motive. We would rather prefer quality visitors who could be trusted and honest enough to admire her beauty as we don't want our place to be overcrowded, the envious characters together with the criminals are the least priorities to come to Davao. As for the good ones willing to appreciate what Davao can offer and also help make her a better place, welcome.

[rocketvision]

International expats community endorses the title for Davao as:

Crown City of the Philippines

Davao is an expansive, bustling city located at the southeastern part of Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippine archipelago. It is the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area with its span of 2,443.61 sq km. Davao is also considered as the de facto capital of Mindanao, serving as the region’s center for trade, commerce, services, and tourism. Situated on the Asia Pacific Rim, Davao serves as the Philippines’ gateway to the world in the south, with its international seaports of Sasa Wharf and Sta. Ana Wharf. Export cargos of abaca, coconuts, rice, fruits, spices, and pearls pass through these cargo ports everyday. Roughly 45% of its economy is dependent on agriculture. Being in a typhoon-free zone and blessed with rich, fertile soil, Davao enjoys a thriving agriculture-based export industry. Two of its largest exports are bananas and pineapple. Other agriculture-based exports are coconut, durian, mangoes, papaya, mangosteen, and flowers. The remaining allocation in Davao’s economy is occupied by the industrial sector (15%) and service sectors (35%). This steady movement away from an agricultural economy is largely due to the influx of private investments and a strong confidence in the peace and security in the region. Davao has a multicultural population, where immigrants from other nations and regions live side-by-side with the local ethnic groups. Davao is a city of contrast as well because of the Chinese, Spanish and Islamic influences that are both assimilated and exhibited in its people’s everyday life. An apparent example of this is the shrines and churches that stand alongside with mosques in the city. Living in Davao is also like a combination of two worlds for this bustling city is flanked by the breathtaking beauty of nature. It is home to the majestic Philippine Eagle, the exotic orchid wwaling-waling, and the highest peak in the country, MT. Apo. For all its diversity, richness, and beauty, Davao deserves the title as the “Crown City of the Philippines”.

Davao City Guide