SIGHTS & SOUNDS: KADAYAWAN MARDI GRAS DAVAO

DAVAO, KOREAN CITY TO INK SISTER-CITY PACT

THE City of Davao and the City of Uijeongbu, South Korea have agreed to forge a sister-city pact to be held in South Korea this year.

In a Letter of Intent signing ceremony at the Grand Men Seng Hotel in Davao City on Wednesday, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Uijeongbu Mayior Kim Moon Won said the forging of a sister-city pact between the two Asian cities would be beneficial to both signatories.

For Davao City, Duterte said the Korean population in the city is growing, thus there is a need to forge an agreement with a Korean city so as to protect and safeguard the Korean nationals here.

Duterte said they also expect huge investments from Korea once the sister-city pact is sealed, especially on the culture and education sectors.

It was learned that Davao City is host to about 3,000 Korean nationals, and they expect the population to grow to 7,000 by next year.

Mayor Won, on the other hand, said they chose Davao City to forge a pact with because the city has great potentials. The Korean mayor even dubbed Davao City as the city of the future.

Won also said the popularity of Mayor Duterte is very strong in Korea as many perceive Duterte as a strong leader.

The sister-city agreement signing is expected to be held in Uijeongbu by September or October of this year. Uijeongbu is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is located just north of Seoul and is host to US and Korean military bases for the defense of the Korean capital. (Ben O. Tesiorna)

PALMETTO PLACE CONDOMINIUMS TO RISE IN DAVAO CITY’S SOUTH

 

Consuji-led developer bullish on Davao, to build third condominium project

DAVAO CITY — The Consunji group’s DMCI Urban Property Developers Inc. is starting within the third quarter of the year its third medium-rise residential complex in this city.

Leonora P. Gutierrez, area manager, said the application of the firm’s Palmetto Place in Maa district, just outside downtown, is already being deliberated for approval by the city council.

Palmetto Place will have four five-storey residential buildings. Initially, the plan was to set up three-storey buildings, but it was revised to accommodate additional units and provide service elevators, Ms. Gutierrez said.

At present, the company is completing the three-building, seven-storey Magallanes Residences, its second condominium complex in the city after the highly successful Ecoland 4000 which was completed two years ago. Ms. Gutierrez said the company has already sold 60% of the 115 units of the first building in Magallanes Residences. The next building is expected to rise in August, and the last building, six months later.

Magallanes Residences, located at the back of the Davao City hall, has 115 units per building, seven of which are for commercial use. A studio unit of 24 square meters with a balcony is sold for P2.8 million, while a 56-square meter, two-room unit costs P3.2 million.

Despite the global economic meltdown that has affected property development in other regions, Ms. Gutierrez said the company has been bullish on its investments in Davao considering the market’s response.

When the company began selling units at Magallanes Residences, two foreigners immediately bought two units each in cash, she said. But the Davao condominium market is still dependent on local clients, Ms. Gutierrez said.

DMCI is regarded as a trailblazer in medium-rise condominium development here. In 2006 local property brokers said the market was not ready for this type of residential projects, but DMCI still pursued its two-building four storey Ecoland 4000.

“At that time, everyone was telling us that the city was not ready for a condominium project, but we decided to go on with it. And we proved everyone wrong,” she said. — C.Q. Francisco

MINDANAO LAWMAKERS EARMARK ONE BILLION (P1B) FOR U.P. MINDANAO INFRA

MANILA (PNA) — Two lawmakers from Mindanao have appropriated some P1.2 billion to finance the medium-term development of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Mindanao.

House Speaker and Davao Rep. Prospero Nograles and Deputy Speaker and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong have filed House Bill 5946 to extend financial support to the university’s Medium-Term Development Plan for 2009 to 2012 that focuses on infrastructure development.

Nograles said UP Mindanao must be supported with the infrastructure and resources it needs to fully fulfill its mandate.

“In view of its umbilical ties to the development efforts of Mindanao, it has to be supported by funds over and above what it normally shares in the Internal Operating Budget of the UP System as covered in the Annual Appropriations Act,” he said.

Under the proposed measure, the budget for various projects for 2009 include P50 million for the construction of a school of management corporate building; P50 million for the construction of a students’ dormitory; P50 million for concreting and landscaping of the University avenue; P150 million for the Mindanao Loop and Oblation Plaza; and P100 million for the construction of the UP Mindanao main library.

For calendar 2010, some P150 million was earmarked for the construction of a biotech facility for indigenous food resources, and P150 million for the construction of a college of humanities and social science building.

For 2011, about P55 million was allotted for the construction of A center for the advancement of research in Mindanao; P50 million for the construction of center for continuing education; and P250 million for the construction of a UP Mindanao Eco-habitat. The bill also provides for the construction in 2012 of a UP Mindanao eco-habitat phase 2 pegged at P250 million.

Proponents said the amount needed to finance the implementation of this Act shall be included in the current year’s national budget, and succeeding Annual General Appropriations Act.

PLDT TO POUR P200 MILLION FOR DAVAO DOCTOR’S HOSPITAL

BY JUDY QUIROS

MAKATI CITY – PLDT chair Manuel Pangilinan said Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), which he also chairs, will pour P200 million in additional investment this year into newly acquired Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) in Davao City.

Pangilinan made the disclosure at a press conference in Dusit Thani Hotel here shortly after the holding of the PLDT Annual Stockholders Meeting last Tuesday.

Pangilinan said the P200 million is in addition to the P200 million which the company poured into DDH last year upon its acquisition of 34 percent ownership of DDH.

The company purchased shares of existing DDH stockholders, 34 percent or 310,000 shares of the total issued shares for P1,600 each for a total of at least P500 million.

He said MPIC is determined to increase its capital expenditures (capex) in DDH to fund its ongoing expansion projects including the purchase of additional modern medical equipment, more facilities and more improvements of the hospital’s parking area. MPIC is a local unit of Hong Kong-listed First Pacific Holdings Ltd., which also acquired a significant equity stake in PLDT.

When asked how DDH is faring upon PLDT’s assumption in the hospital, Pangilinan said “ the Davao Doctors Hospital is doing good. That’s why we are confident of increasing our capex for the facility,” he said.

“Davao is a great place to invest specially in health care,” he said. Pangilinan added, however, that Davao Doctors College, which is also principally owned by DDH, has suffered a drop in enrollment this year.

Nevertheless, he is optimistic the college will make a rebound. Pangilinan underscored the determination of PLDT/MPIC to focus on medical tourism in light of its focus of acquiring more hospitals in the countryside.

The company also owns Medical Doctors Inc. (MDI), which operates the Makati Medical Center. “We will continue to build facilities to cure because many people are getting sick,” he said.

The company is also eying Cebu City for its medical tourism thrust, Pangilinan said. He said the company has already initiated talks with local partners for the acquisition of a hospital in Cebu.

He said PLDT has many prospects for Mindanao given its potential for investments. Aside from medical tourism, PLDT is planning to invest in the agriculture and mining sectors in Mindanao. Pangilinan mentioned PLDT’s interest to invest in palm oil, aquamarine, and mining particularly on coal in Mindanao

PROFILE OF A CITY WHERE BUSINESS MIXES WITH LEISURE

Manila Times Special Report
Sunday, May 24, 2009IN Davao, size has always mattered.

It is one of the biggest city in the world, at 2,443 square kilometers, or 36,916 hectares.

It is home to over 1.4 million people and Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak; the Philippine eagle, the world’s largest raptor; and the waling-waling, the queen mother of orchids.

Seven out of 10 Davaoeños live in the largest urban market in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area.

Claiming to be Mindanao’s de facto capital, it is the country’s southern gateway to the 51-million market Southeast Asian growth hub.

Exports were estimated at $797.6 million last year. Worth $496 million in 2008 and $417 in 2007, local bananas composed 66 percent of the country’s export, the third largest in the world.

In 2008, the major exports were 2.1 billion kilograms of fresh bananas worth $496.2 million; 181 million kg of fresh and canned pineapples; rubber, banana chips, activated carbon, dessicated coconut, gold with silver, tuna, charcoal, coconut oil and cement.

The largest destinations: Japan (41 percent of all goods), the Middle East, China, South Korea and the US.

The top major crops are coconut (212,438 metric tons in 2007), banana (205,333 MT), durian (24,895 MT), pineapple (21,088 MT), mango (9,492) and coffee (4,793 MT).

The city supplies 60 percent of the country’s cut-flower market, nearly a million dozens each year.

With a literacy rate of 95.17 percent, one of the highest in Asia, more than half of its 17- to 24-year-old are in school, again among the highest enrollments in Asia.

It has the country’s highest ratio of colleges to population—with 42 colleges (out of 46 in Mindanao). Three of them are the country’s top 20: Ateneo de Davao, University of the Philippines in Mindanao and San Pedro College.

At any given time, there are more than 94,000 students college students; there were more than 12,000 graduate in 2007-2008, most of them in medical and allied disciplines and business administration.

Employment is almost 90 percent, and the female labor force is one of the highest in the country.

Fiber-optic trunk system with direct dial links, GSM cellular networks, broadband connections are on demand. There are over 300 Internet cafes, 29 newspapers, eight of them daily, 10 television and 51 radio stations.

All leading banks have more than one branch in the city, which is host to 1,620 financial institutions, including 163 bank branches, financing companies and lending firms.

Davao City was the first local government to enact an investment incentive (passed in 1994) for P1 million and above investments employing at least 10 city residents and falling under the preferred areas such as agri-business and food processing; tourism; transshipment facilities; light manufacturing; property development; establishment of foreign bank branches; telecommunications; environmental protection projects; medical, educational, training and sports facilities; and Information and Communications Technology.

Last year, Davao was among the 25 best cities in the country in which to live, work and operate a business.

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center cited the cities for the dynamism of the local economy, least cost of doing business, infrastructure, human resources and training, responsiveness of the local government to business needs and quality of life.

Davao was cited as having the least cost in operating a business and with the best infrastructure in roads, bridges, telephone lines, Internet connections and so on.

Among the parameters rated were the average electricity and water rates; households connected to potable water; hospital beds and doctors per 100,000 people; crime solution efficiency; number of banks; average business tax burden per establishment; and the number of businesses. Even the cost and the means of going to an airport were factored in.

In 2007, Davao topped the AIM list of 20 metropolitan Philippine cities. It scored high in the cost of doing business; dynamism of local economy; human resources and training; infrastructure; responsiveness of local governments to business needs; and quality of life (a perfect 10 in the percentage of households with access to potable water).

According to the AIM Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2007, Davao’s strongest points were average travel time to nearest airport/seaport; electricity rate; business tax burden; absence of bribery and fixers; access to commercial banks; qualified job applicants; time to renew a business permit; over-all reliability of electricity and telephone services; and water rates.

5 MORE BPO FIRMS EYE DAVAO CITY

BY JUDY QUIROS

Five business process outsourcing (BPO) companies have expressed interest to locate in Davao City signaling a continued growth in the industry. Eriberto Barriga, vice president for industry development of ICT-Davao said the said BPO establishments are slated to come to the city in the next two weeks to gather more information about the BPO industry climate in the city. Barriga however opted not to divulge the names of the companies except for one, in order not to preempt their investment plans. He named E-Telecare, which has an existing IT recruitment and training center in the city as one of five interested firms. This time, they (referring to E-Telecare) have expressed interest to establish a call center in the city after witnessing the growth of the industry, Barriga said. At present, Davao City has 18 big call centers and over 30 BPO establishments, he said. The above five potential BPO investors are just among a dozen of developers who want to locate in the city, Barriga said. Barriga however said the locators, mostly from Manila are laying some new requirements to ensure that their business venturing in outsourcing will succeed. Most of the locators want to see an ICT site which is already ready for use equipped with the needed infrastructure facilities. Local developers want to upgrade the requirements rather than just focus on space or basic shell. BPO interested developers want other specifications among others, improved and ready to use facilities. “For them, it is practical to come in because the facilities are already ready,” Barriga said. Meeting the said new requirements would entail huge budget, Barriga said. In light of this development, ICT council is seeing the need for more advocacy work in relation to getting assistance from international donor agencies among others, Australia Aid, and CIDA of Canada and for them to understand the needs of the ICT sector to pump prime its development, Barriga said.

EKRAN BERNAD PROPOSES REHAB OF $300-M SAMAL CASINO RESORT COMPLEX

 

News from BusinessWorld Online:

DAVAO CITY — A Malaysian firm is proposing to rehabilitate and resume the operations of a mothballed casino resort in Samal Island.

Cleto B. Gales, Jr., Samal’s city administrator, said local officials met with Ekran Berhad Holdings Chairman Pek Khiing Ting and his son Michael Ting late March in Kota Kinabalu to discuss the company’s plans.

Ekran Berhad plans to link the $300-million Samal Island resort with its other hotels in the region, specifically the one in Kuching, Malaysia, Mr. Gales said.

The meeting was prompted by Ekran Berhad’s growing tax arrears, which has reached P30 million. In the first quarter of the year, the foreign firm sent consultants to the resort to assess its condition.

In 2004, a study by the local government and the Department of Tourism estimated that around P200 million would be needed to revive the resort.

The local government had talked to several groups, including South Korean and American companies, and even the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., but all three did not want to bear the costs.

The 300-room hotel and casino resort opened in December 1997 under an agreement with the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. The resort, located at the 11,800-hectare Samal Island Tourism Estate Project, had golf-courses, a casino, condominiums, villas, and recreational facilities.

Read more: Businessworld

DAVAO MARKET STILL STRONG

 

Davaohive: Filinvest builds new subdivision and a hotel in davao city.

DAVAO CITY — Filinvest Land, Inc. is planning to start two more projects, including a hotel, in this city, with an executive noting that the property market is still in good shape.

Tristan Las Marias, company vice-president for Visayas and Mindanao, noted that Filinvest’s seven-building One Oasis Davao condominium project, still under construction, has been enjoying brisk sales.

Mr. Las Marias said Filinvest wants to be “one foot ahead” of competitors.

One of the new projects is a three-hectare subdivision that will rise on the property of the Villa Abrille family in Matina district just across the NCCC shopping mall, one of the biggest in the city.

The other is a medium-rise hotel, which will be just across the 10-hectare Abreeza, a mixed-use project of Ayala Land, Inc. and the Anflo Group of Companies.

The medium-rise project, which will sit beside the city’s Redemptorist Church, will be built instead of the previously announced businessmen’s hotel near the Davao international airport. “The [hotel project in Buhangin district] has been overrun by events,” he said.

He noted that most units in the first three One Oasis buildings and those in the 50-hectare Kembali Coast, an upscale residential resort in nearby Samal Island, are already sold.

“We were a bit surprised about the fast turnover,” he said in a press briefing over the weekend, pointing out that about 50% of the buyers were from outside the city. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

MEGA MALLS IN DAVAO RISING SIMULTANEOUSLY

Clip from Business world Newspaper: Davao expansion

SM Prime is laying the groundwork for a new shopping complex in Davao City’s Lanang district, about eight kilometers north of the city’s downtown. The company currently operates SM City Davao at Ecoland district, a kilometer south of the central business district.

The proposed shopping mall will need an initial 1,000 workers, said lawyer Pearly Joan L. Jayagan, SM City Davao Human Resources Department head.

Late last year, SM Prime bought a 10-hectare lot, previously hosting the Lanang Golf and Country Club, from the Dakudao family, one of the landed clans in this city. Although a member of the Dakudao clan confirmed the sale of the property to SM Prime, he declined to reveal the amount involved.

Late last year, workers have started demolishing the golf club apparently in preparation for the development of the new shopping mall.

Debbie A. Go, SM regional manager for Mindanao, declined to give details on the plan but confirmed that a retail complex would be constructed on the new site, noting the “big potential” in the northern sections of the city where upscale subdivisions are located.

The SM project, however, is just one of the major developments in the northern part of this metropolis.

In the second week of May, JG Summit Holdings, Inc.’s Robinsons Cybergate Davao is set to formally open, hosting contact centers and information technology-related firms as well as retail shops.

Also under development is Ayala Land, Inc. and the Anflo Management and Investment Co.’s 10-hectare Abreeza complex in Bajada district just two kilometers north of the city’s downtown. The P5-billion project will be completed in 2011, but officials of the two companies said last year its shopping mall will open in early 2010.

The New City Commercial Corp. (NCCC) has also bought a potential shopping mall site in Panacan district, near the Davao international airport and just about two kilometers from where the planned SM Davao north mall will be located.

NCCC currently operates two shopping malls in the city, and two others in Puerto Princesa in Palawan and in Tagum, Davao del Norte. It also operates a chain of convenience stores in this city.

No one among the members of the Lim family which owns the mall chain would confirm the reported acquisition of the Panacan land, however. — Kristine Jane R. Liu and Carmelito Q. Francisco

SM CITY MALL TO RISE IN LANANG

BY JUDY QUIROS

SM Prime Holdings will soon open an SM City Mall branch in Lanang, Davao City. Lawyer Pearly Jayagan, regional head of SM City Human Resource, said the planned second SM mall will rise within a 10-hectare property at the former Lanang Golf and Country Club owned by the Dakudao family. “We are now preparing for SM Lanang,” Jayagan said yesterday at the Kapehan sa Dabaw held at Café Rysus SM City Davao. She said the SM mall is expected to generate over 1,000 jobs. She declined to elaborate further on the level of preparations the company is currently conducting for the planned mall, including the target date of the project’s completion and operation. The Mirror learned the feasibility study of the planned mall is already completed. In an interview with reporters, Debby Go, SM regional manager for Mindanao, refused to give specific details on the project but confirmed that it will be constructed at the Lanang Golf and Country Club site. Structures at the golf site have already been removed to pave the way for the SM mall project. Go said she is optimistic there is a market at the north side of the city in light of the growing economy in the area. SM Prime Holdings is also set to open a mall branch in General Santos City.

DAVAO CITY and DAVAO REGION “ON THE RISE” MALLS and HOTELS

MALLS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Ayala Center Davao “Abreeza” (Ayala Park, Davao City: opens 2010)
• SM North Mall Davao (SM IT Park, Lanang, Davao City)
• Robinson’s Cybergate Davao (Robinson’s IT Park, Davao City: NOW OPEN!)
• Gaisano Mall Davao: Sta. Ana Wing Expansion (Davao City: NOW OPEN!)
• Matina Centerpoint Mall Expansion (Davao City)
• NCCC Hypermart Mall (Panacan, Davao City)

• Gaisano Grand Mall – Panabo City (NOW OPEN! )
• Gaisano Grand Citi Mall (Digos City)

MALLS: PROPOSED

• NCCC Mall Lanang (Davao City)
• NCCC Mall of Mati (Mati City)
• NCCC Mall of Digos (Digos City)
• Gaisano Mall of Tagum (Tagum City)
• Gaisano North Davao (Davao City) 

HOTELS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Central Park Hotel (Chinatown District, Davao City)
• Luisa Suites (Davao City)
• Adarna Hotel (Davao City) 
• Holiday Ocean View Samal Hotel (Babak District, Samal City)
• Samal Highland Garden Resort Hotel (Babak District, Samal City)
• Filinvest Hotel (accross Abreeza Mall, Davao City)
• Oro Derm Beauty Hotel (Davao City) NOW OPEN!

DRTP PLANS TO MAKE SOUTHERN MINDANAO A WORLD-CLASS TOURISM DESTINATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC

By Mike U. Crismundo

DAVAO CITY, April 26 (PNA) -– The Davao Region Tourism Plan (DRTP) is eyeing to make Southern Mindanao to be a world-class tourism destination in the Asia-Pacific Region, this was learned on Sunday.

In a meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC), ranking tourism officials in the region presented the DRTP’s objective to make the region to be an anchor world-class destination of the country and also a gateway to Mindanao and to the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei/Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines-East Asean Growth Area).

Southern Mindanao Tourism Regional Director Sonia Garcia said the DRTP envisions to make Southern Mindanao region not only a world-class tourism destination but also the most safe and secure place for tourists in the Philippine Archepilago.

The region’s tourism official said that high standard accommodation for tourists and standardized services are currently offered to tourists, as well as an island-to- highland destination highlighting on culture, adventure and nature with diving and golf.

Next week, 10 cultural villages within the region will start their respective unique cultural shows, said Director Garcia.

These cultural villages will also create and offer indigenous products to tourists. Some of these are weaves and beadings, she added.

DRTP also offers to tourists several scenic areas in the region, historical tour, cultural tourism, banana biz tour, eco-adventure tourism, culinary tourism and several other tourism destinations in the region.

A grant of at least Php 8 million from Senator Loren Legarda has been poured in for livelihood programs within the said cultural projects, it was learned.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the influx of tourists this summer, the RDC has enjoined all the local chief executives of all the cities and provinces of the Southern Mindanao region to establish showrooms for their indigenous products.

In the same RDC meeting, the Council approved a resolution directing all the governors and mayors in the region to set up a display center for all their native products and services, especially the products identified under the One Town-One Product (OTOP) program of the government, which promotes entrepreneurship.

It was also learned that OTOP Philippines is a priority program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to help establish three million new businesses and create six to 10 million jobs.

Southern Mindanao RDC Chair Vicente Lao said that the local showrooms should not only display the particular OTOP products identified by the LGUs, but also other local products that are endemic in the localities.

He said this will make it easier for the local tourism stakeholders and hosts where to bring the tourists and guests when they look for native products, souvenir items and the likes.

The RDC chair added that the project is expected to brisk up the income, especially of small entrepreneurs. (PNA)
scs/MUC/rsm

NEW SAMAL RESORT PROJECT LIKENED TO SINGAPORE’S SENTOSA

By Jean Duron-Abangan

Davao City (23 April) — “It’s beautiful! It’s a promising site. It would be like a small version of Sentosa in Singapore once fully developed.”

Architect Ferrychie B. Cuasito summed up her impression and her vision of the 45 hectare property introduced to the public as Samal Highlands Garden Resort.

It is owned by Podador-Alegre-Navarrete and Associates and developed by RJP Realty and Development Corporation which has brought in the planning and architectural expertise of Kintanar, Santamaria, Estalillia, LG&V, and Cuasito and Perez.

The recent broker and press presentation of the property development revealed that the site is located at the northern tip of the Island Garden City of Samal particularly in Barangay San Isidro, District of Babak.

Just nine kilometers away from the Babak Ferry Terminal, the property which stretches along 800-meter beach-line is fronting the big and small Liguid islands.

With a project cost pegged at P800 million, the 45-hectare property will undergo a three-phase development particularly named as Emilia Garden Residences, Terazzas de San Isidro and Costa de Azure.

The Emilia and the Terazzas will unfold a mix of high-end residential areas at a flat and highland terrain sites while the Costa de Azure will feature leisure, recreational and wellness facilities.

Since the residential areas used to be mango and coconut tree plantations, lot buyers would have their share of at least two of the full grown trees, giving a ready-made natural shade.

Lying below a 30-meter-high cliff at the back of Terazzas de San Isidro area, the Costa de Azure would become a versatile place to enjoy sports activities such as swimming, kayaking, jetskiing, rappelling and taking a zip-line thrill.

It would also serve as an educational tour site of students who would like to see and observe the environment of a naturally-grown mangrove area.

There would be gazebos, a coffee shop, a convention center, cottages and hotel rooms at Costa de Azure to serve those who want to do business while enjoying leisure at the beach.

One of the property owners, Dr. Jonathan Alegre during the property development presentation rites said the project started with just a dream of having a place to while away the stressful living of city life.

But the location his family has found, turned out to be more than just a place to rest but a “God-given” site whose grandeur they want to share with other people.

In the same event, co-owner Emilia Podador-Navarette Alegre revealed that the real property development project has been hatched as a tribute to the late Engineer Emilia Lim Podador, who she said, was a visionary and dreamer. (PIA XI) [top]

PIA News

COUNCIL DECLARES MINTAL A JAPANESE HERITAGE SITE

BARANGAY Mintal has officially been declared a Japanese heritage site Tuesday through a resolution passed by the Davao City Council in recognition of the historical bonds between the people of Japan and Davao.

Mintal was then known as “Little Tokyo” during the World War II.

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado, City Council chair of the committee on international relations, said Barangay Mintal will construct a Japanese-themed park and will also reconstruct Japanese relic sites in the barangay.

“Ang target is mahuman siya (it will be finished) by August when most Japanese tourists visit the city. With city tourism, a barangay tourism council will be established, patterned after the Japanese Heritage declaration. This will hopefully make Mintal another tourist destination,” Zozobrado said.

In a separate statement issued earlier, Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) chief Roberto Teo said, “The declaration of Mintal as a Japanese heritage site will encourage residents to look at possible economic activities which they can do to attract Japanese and other tourists.”

Philippine Nikkei Jinkai Inc. chairman Bernardo Fernandez said all of Mintal used to be occupied and owned by the Japanese.

Barangay captain Ramon Bargamento has already identified a site where the planned Japanese garden would be built, the small plaza beside the Mintal Gym.

However, Historical Society chair Enrica Babao said the place is too small and suggested that they scout for bigger areas since there are lots of government institutions in the area like the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Bureau of Plant Industry

Davao Hive Philippines

http://davaohive101.wordpress.com

List of stores/stations proudly DAVAO-BASED with branches recognized NATIONWIDE:

 

1. NCCC MALLS PHILIPPINES (Mall Industry)
2. PHOENIX PETROLEUM PHILIPPINES (Gas Stations / Petroleum Industry)
3. BLUGRE CAFE (Food and Beverage Industry: Coffee Shops)
4. PANADERIA BAKESHOP (Food and Beverage Industry: Bread House)
5. BANOKS BARBEQUE RESTAURANT (Food and Beverage Industry: Barbeque House)
6. CITI HARDWARE (Hardware Store)
7. EMCOR PHILIPPINES (Appliance Center)
8. OCTAGON COLUMBIA COMPUTER CENTER (Computer Superstore)
9. ONE NETWORK BANK (Rural Banking Industry)

 

MARCH Featured Store: Blugre Cafe Davao

For Franchise, refer to this address: http://franchise.philtrademarket.com/blugre-coffee-franchise/152/

Branches:  

BLUGRE COFFEE CENTRAL 

• Valencia Compound, Jacinto Ext., Davao City
• 221-4667

BLUGRE COFFEE – MATINA

• Matina Town Square, Mc Arthur Highway, Davao City
• 297-7431

BLUGRE COFFEE - SM DAVAO 

• Ground Floor, SM City Davao, Ecoland Drive, Davao City
• 303-5554

BLUGRE COFFEE – BAJADA

• Landco Corporate Center, J.P. Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City
• 222-7675

BLUGRE COFFEE – GENERAL SANTOS

• Franchise:  Mr. Manny Pacquiao
• JMP Building, South Osmena St., General Santos City
• 521-1111

BLUGRE COFFEE – TAGUM

• Gaisano Mall of Tagum, Tagum City

Blugre COffee shop is the first and leading specialty coffee shop, founded in 1998 by husband and wife, Gatchi and Larcy Gatchalian, both Manileńos but consider themselves Davaowenyos by heart.

Blugré Coffee has two branches one in Landco Corporate Center, and at Matina Town Square, Davao City.
(It’s sister company is Kape’t Pandesal located at SM City Davao).

Established in June 1998, Blugré Coffee’s claim to fame is its signature drink, DURIAN GATCHPUCCINO, a hot cappuccino concoction that blends espresso and the fruit durian wonderfully. (Also available is Durian Larcepuccino, the cold version of Durian Gatchpuccino). It is dubbed as “the king of all coffees” (durian being the king of all fruits).

Blugré is responsible for creating a coffee culture in Davao, and leads the pack mainly because of the coffee lifestyle experience which Dabawenyos enjoy up to now.

Blugré Coffee is actually a spin-off from the couple’s clothing business under the brand BLUGRÉ. But the owners’ fascination and love for coffee led them to putting up not just a coffee place but a coffee brand. To the Dabawenyos, Blugré now is synonymous to great coffee experience.

Aside from your regular specialty coffee shop menu items like espresso, latte, mocha, cappuccino, Blugré also serves LARCEPUCCINO COFFEE, an ice-blended coffee drink which boasts of a variety of concoctions, and one drink is being served in what Blugré calls Larcepuccino Fun Cup, where the fun cup is “to go” serving as a souvenir of one’s memorable Blugré experience; LARCEPUCCINO CREAM, a non-coffee ice-blended drink; BLUGRÉ SHAKERS, variety of shakes with and without coffee, plus chocolate drinks, milk, and flavored tea drinks.

Davao Wakeboard Park, Southeast Asia’s Largest, to rise in Davao City

A PROPERTY developer will embark on an eight-year real estate and resort development project in Mintal, Davao City.

In an interview Friday, JJ Atencio, president of Housing Development Corp., told reporters the company will initially invest P30 million for its housing and resort project.

The project will involve the construction of the biggest wake boarding facility in Southeast Asia and is expected to boost the local tourism industry.

Housing Development Corp. is the developer of Deca Homes in Davao.

“We started with the project two weeks ago. We are investing in Davao City because we are optimistic about the future of the city,” Atencio said, adding the project will entail the development of a 125-hectare property, five hectares of which will be for a wake board facility.

Atencio said the project, with its wake board facility, is something new for Davao City. A wake board is a smaller version of a surfboard.

“I am not after foreign tourism…I am doing this the local tourism industry. I want Dabawenyos to experience wake boarding,” Atencio said.

“We will make the experience affordable. We are thinking of a P500 fee for the whole day. The P30 million is just an initial investment. We can always expand the business. There’s still a lot of room for improvement,” he said.

Atencio said he believes people should invest more during depressed times.

“We are happy to note that the real estate industry in the Philippines is not as complicated as the US. The crisis in the US is severe because the major drivers of its economy, the real estate and financial sectors, were hit,” he said.

By Joy Romares-Sevilla (Sunstar Davao)

Davao New (great) chocolate added to Askinosie lineup

Askinosie’s new chocolate

Our favorite chocolate of 2008 just gained a new sibling. Askinosie, a socially responsible Missouri company that specializes in single-origin chocolates, has just announced its latest bar: 77 percent dark chocolate from Davao, Philippines. We already bit into a sample: The chocolate melts slowly, taking on a nut-butter quality in the mouth; it’s an honest, earthy confection that is both rich and intense. Look for it soon at Blue Apron Foods in Brooklyn, or order online.

Davao tourism: 700-Davao or 700-32826.