CEBU and DAVAO, hand in hand for a stronger Philippines!

[Tj-Mixxed]

---

Aint having fun yet? Then enjoy what Davao has to offer from islands to highlands!

[img width=232 height=500]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/dvoadv.jpg[/img]


[img width=500 height=496]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/davsur.jpg[/img]


[img width=401 height=500]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/davor.jpg[/img]


[img width=461 height=500]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/davnorth.jpg[/img]


[img width=500 height=285]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/dive.jpg[/img]

[malaysia]

random davao pictures by bob martin...

barangay cloud 9, davao city
[img width=500 height=333]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav3.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav1.jpg[/img]

seagull valley mountain resort, davao city
[img width=500 height=333]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav2.jpg[/img]

santa claus is coming to town, san pedro st., near lachmi mall
[img width=375 height=500]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav4.jpg[/img]

university of mindanao, bolton campus
[img width=500 height=375]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav6.jpg[/img]

sm city davao
[img width=500 height=333]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav7.jpg[/img]

chinatown, davao city (uyanguren)
[img width=500 height=375]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav8.jpg[/img]

oldest jollibee in davao, bolton street
[img width=375 height=500]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav9.jpg[/img]

makro, matina, davao city
[img width=500 height=375]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav12.jpg[/img]

bajada, davao city (taken from obrero side)
[img width=375 height=500]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f368/badith/dav10.jpg[/img]

[diehardbisdak]

...CEBU was featured last night in BANDILA (ABS-CBN 2) .... it was all about the ASEAN Summit and how the local gov't. is preparing for it: security, accomodations and the on-going construction of the CICC... i like the way Ms. Ces Drilon delivered her exclusive report and she even said, "the world will be focusing on Cebu in December"...

[diehardbisdak]

.... related news about ASEAN Summit

******************

Hotels, resorts ‘ready’ for Asean summit, says DOT exec

FORTY-TWO representatives of different hotels, resorts and a few pension houses assured Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo that they “are ready” for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Leaders’ Summit in December.

“They assured me they are ready,” Alburo said, following a meeting with hotel, resort and pension house representatives yesterday at the Civil Service Commission office.

Alburo said that by the last week of this month, three teams from the Department of Tourism (DOT) will start inspecting hotels and resorts in Cebu that had committed to upgrade their facilities for the Asean summit.

He told Sun.Star Cebu that each team will be composed of 14 DOT inspectors from Manila and Cebu.

Criteria

He said the team will check the rooms whether these will meet the criteria set by DOT.

“It has to be presentable and ready for the prime ministers and delegates,” Alburo said.

He added the rooms should be complete with amenities, including a telephone line.

He said the inspection will be conducted in a “fair” manner.

Alburo did not say when the inspection will be completed, adding that the DOT is still getting requests for additional rooms.

He assured, though, that the inspection “will not take long” since the DOT will mainly assess the rooms, not process the accreditation of hotels and resorts.

He said 3,747 rooms and suites are estimated to be reserved from Dec. 8 to 14, in relation to the Asean summit.

Although the number of official foreign delegates is expected to be between 3,000 and 4,000, Alburo is confident the province can still accommodate the influx of visitors since some rooms will hold two or three people. (MMM)

[diehardbisdak]

Beaches eyed as ecozones
By Wilfredo Rodolfo III, Regina Aguilar
Cebu Daily News
Last updated 01:24pm (Mla time) 09/12/2006


Some of the country's white beaches are being eyed as economic zones or ecozones for foreign direct investors (FDIs).

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is now looking at attracting investments for the country's tourism.

Sansaluna Pinagayao, zone administrator of the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), recently said that boosting tourism was one of the directions PEZA planned to take in achieving economic growth in the country.

Pinagayao said tourism would grow faster if investment opportunities in the sector are more attractive, especially for FDIs.

Declaring a location an ecozone provides the area certain privileges under the law. These include tax holidays and incentives for companies operating within it. The area operates with minimum government interference and allows the employment of foreign nationals.

“Foreign investors could now easily get the properties and develop it,” Pinagayao said.

PEZA, at present, is looking at Panglao Island in Bohol as a potential ecozone.

Pinagayao said the biggest draw was the tax breaks and assistance in business documentation that PEZA is exclusively offering to ecozone locators. They also get 24-hour assistance, he said.

Pinagayao also cited MEPZ 1 and 2’s monthly contribution of about P2 billion to Cebu's economy. Close to a billion pesos goes to the salary of 50,000 workers while the rest goes to purchases of supplies for the locators.

[diehardbisdak]

.....CEBU is IT

*********************


Japanese firm seeks to train computer engineers for hiring
By Regina Aguilar
Cebu Daily News
Last updated 01:24pm (Mla time) 09/12/2006


A Japanese information technology (IT) outsourcing company is seeking to develop potential Filipino computer engineers to work in Japan.

Sahara Systems Corp. (SSC) will be in Cebu next week to visit local universities and government agencies, according to the Cebu Investment Promotion Center (CIPC).

The Tokyo-based company plans to introduce a course program, which produces highly in-demand graduates to work in Japan.

“The purpose of this visit is to build partnerships with universities in Cebu to develop UNIX, a computer operating system used in workstations and servers, and Japanese language courses,” CIPC said.

SSC wants local universities to adopt a four-year UNIX course, where the company could hire qualified graduates for IT engineer work in Japan.

Free UNIX hardware and other education tools for use will be offered to partner schools.

“The company fervently hopes that this effort will help introduce Japan to the
Philippines as a viable market for IT engineers, especially for UNIX experts,” CIPC said.

Philippine National IT Standard Foundation president Ma. Corazon M. Akol earlier announced the big market for IT professionals in Japan, which requires high level IT competency standard.

Although Filipinos are required to get professional certification and master the Japanese language, Akol said IT professionals in the country are highly recognized in Japan.

Atsou Miyazaki, president of Chinasoft-Tokyo Co. Ltd. and expert for Japan External Trade Organization also noted the “high level” of IT in Cebu

“Cebu can design according to the requirements of a company. I have noted that they have developed software packages such as accounting. This is my impression,” Miyazaki said.

SSC offers services to multinational finance companies in Asia and offers excellent job opportunities for talented IT engineers worldwide.

Its meeting with Cebu universities will take place starting September 18 to 22. The meeting was made possible through the help of CIPC and the commercial section of the Philippine Embassy in Japan.

[diehardbisdak]

Danao City Hall

[img width=500 height=297]http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8462/241246969b10fa695d9owe6.jpg[/img]



Danao CIvic Center

[img width=500 height=336]http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8919/241247273f2776f2320oav5.jpg[/img]


[img width=500 height=351]http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1514/2412471005a8091858foqa6.jpg[/img]



Gaisano Danao

[img width=500 height=364]http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5691/241247149136af1093boso2.jpg[/img]


All pics by TOLZ~06 of flickr.com

[Tj-Mixxed]

Great updates diehard! :mrgreen:

now for Davao!

DAVAO to the WORLD

[img width=351 height=500]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/tj_brewed/DAVAO/dvonyts.jpg[/img]

The staging of the 25th ASEAN Tourism Forum last January 13-21, 2006 placed this emerging megacity in the world tourism map. It turned Davao City into an international tourism hub as some 3,000 delegates from 6 continents around the world came over and participated in the ASEAN's prestigious international event.

"Davao has all the infrastructure - a world-class international airport, good roads, hotels and resorts, natural attractions, great food, effective local government, the best security system, peace-loving and law-abiding people, and everything else to make a fine menu for tourism," Durano said. "So now is the time to present Davao to the world, and ATF served as its grand entrance."

Citing the city as the next pillar of Philippine tourism, Durano said it was President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's personal choice that ATF 2006 was held here.

Also the gateway and capital of the East Asian Growth Area (EAGA), which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Davao City is an ideal tourist destination with its diverse cultures, beautiful beaches, awesome mountain resorts, fantastic dive spots, and natural resources.

“There is a charm in Davao that is not seen elsewhere and this is captured by the city's locals,” Durano explained.

The ATF is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Southeast Asian region as one tourist destination and support the individual tourism pursuits of the ASEAN's 10-member nations -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

[Tj-Mixxed]

Davao City to Saudi for investments in BPO Industry
PIA

Government officials and businessmen comprising the Davao City trade mission to Saudi Arabia on November 10 to 16, 2006 are expected to woo Saudi investors to the city’s Business Process Outsourcing sector.

“We will be encouraging Saudi investors to invest in ICT which is one of the priority investment sectors being promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry XI,” said Teolulo Pasawa, center director of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center.

Pasawa said Saudi investors may be willing to invest in the city’s ICT sector, particularly the Business Process Outsourcing sector which is the trend today.

BPO is the method by which highly developed countries outsource their businesses to third world countries like the Philippines and India due to cheap labor and other costs.

“There are plenty of businesses in Saudi and their investors can set up a BPO here to serve the Saudi business community who may need to outsource their call center or other services,” he said.

Davao City is one of the most sought after areas for BPO because of the cheap operating costs in the area. BPO can be further sub-divided into call center operations, help desks, medical transcription, and digital animation.

“One of the biggest players in Davao’s BPO sector is GCom which foresees a 450-seat call center,” Department of Trade and Industry IT officer Ariel Nengasca said. Only 250 seats have so far been operational and still expanding.

A BPO company is said to be a big player if its investment is P150 million or more. A call center is said to be a big player if it has a seating capacity for more than a hundred call center operators.

Nengasca said there are at least 20 small BPO players in the city, mostly in the areas of medical trans-cription and engineering and software development like the Association of Solution Integrators of Davao.

Other big players in the call center industry which are active in Davao are People Support and Link2Support.

Note: Link2Support will be opening its Davao operations within Damosa IT Park while PeopleSupport will be opening its permanent headquarters at Luisa Square on September 15, 2006.

[Tj-Mixxed]

PAL conducting studies for Davao - Japan, Davao - Hongkong, and Davao - South Korea flights
Daily Mirror Online

Philippine Air Lines (PAL) continues to gather data for evaluation on plans to establish new air routes from Davao City to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

PAL senior assistant vice president for Mindanao Atty. Domingo Duerme said if plans push through, PAL will create direct Davao-Hong Kong, Davao-Japan, and Davao-South Korea flights via Manila.

Duerme said data in terms of travel frequency from travel agents, air transportation industry data, and historical figures are significant factors to consider in pursuing the proposed new routes.

“PAL should create three flights a day for the proposed new destinations to sustain the market,” he added.

Duerme said of the three destinations, PAL sees heavy traffic in the South Korea market because of the increasing number of Korean nationals visiting Davao.

He said PAL has ordered a number of aircraft as part of its expansion plans. If the ongoing study shows positive results, PAL will pursue the proposed new routes for Davao upon the arrival of the new aircraft, he said.

Duerme said PAL Davao experienced a better load factor this year compared to that of last year with 80 percent during lean periods and 95 percent during peak periods.

At present, PAL serves 60 to 100 passengers during its first flight bound for foreign destinations, Duerme said.