davao city mayor Archives - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Oct252012 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

My thoughts: Duterte offers 5 Million bounty for suspected car theft syndicate leader

Blogging, Controversial, Davao City, Government, Musings, News, Opinion, Politics

I am a Dabawenya. Born and raised in Davao City. Anybody who knows me can attest to how much I love my hometown and how much I respect the government officials voted by the people. Anybody who has also been reading this Mindanaoan blog for a while now would know that I consider the Dutertes as not only powerful but efficient public officials. Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte (who's running virtually unopposed for Davao City mayor in the May 2013 elections) has done a lot for Davao City. I'm pretty sure a lot of people would agree with me. He runs the city with an iron fist and his style of governance works well for a city like Davao. Under his leadership (and his daughter's, incumbent Mayor Sara), Davao became a smoke-free, firecracker-free and non-biodegradable plastics and...

Sep272011 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Davao City launches “Life Is Here” tourism campaign

Advocacy, Announcements, Arts, Beauty, Bisaya, Blogging, Culture, Davao City, Davao Del Norte, Davao del Sur, Features, Government, Headline, Leisure, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Tourism, Travel, Videos

Davao City has a new tourism campaign and I love, love, love it! The Davao City Government recently launched its "Davao - Life Is Here" tourism campaign and they used the Philippine Eagle as the tourism icon. To quote Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte: “What is it in Davao that we want to present to the market? We have the Philippine Eagle, we have the durian and pomelo. We go to Samal (beaches) for lunch or we go to Eden (Nature Resort) to picnic. These are the things we need to promote." As we all know, my hometown Davao City is also known for its annual Kadayawan Festival, Araw ng Davao festivities and its Summerfest! The new "Davao. Life Is Here" campaign reportedly cost Php 1.5 Million. Rey “Bai” Manginsay, a former Lanao del Norte resident, was tapped as creative co...

Jul22011 by Mindanaoan Irene32 Comments

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte punches sheriff…and why I still trust and believe in her

Advocacy, BIMP-EAGA, Bisaya, Blogging, Controversial, Davao City, Davao Del Norte, Davao del Sur, Features, Government, Headline, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Opinion, Personal, Personalities, Politics, Society

First things first. I am a Dabawenya. Hence, you know that I can be biased...and I am. I will not even try to deny it. No matter what people say, I think Davao City has gone a long way from being a mere "NicarAGDAO" (likened to Nicaragua...Agdao is one of the notorious areas in Davao where dead bodies would be found long ago...now it's a busy commercial district) to being one of the most livable cities in the world and part of the reason why my beloved hometown is doing this well are the Dutertes. Before I proceed, let me just say that this is not a political post. This will not be an in-depth analysis. This will not even cite the possible sanctions, the alleged violated laws etc etc. I will leave all of those to lawyers, analysts, political bloggers, columnists etc etc. Instead, this w...

Dec52010 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Davao City’s musical fountain worth P18M is 1st in Mindanao

Announcements, Arts, Davao City, Features, Government, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Tourism

As you guys may or may not know, the local government unit of my hometown Davao City, Mindanao has banned the use and sale of fireworks for years now. So yes, it's been a series of pretty "quiet" Christmases and New Year's Eves in Davao for several years now. Quiet but safe. Now, because fireworks aren't permitted, the Davao City government, led by Mayor Sara Duterte, has come up with the next best thing - an P18 Million dancing, musical fountain! The grand musical fountain, which can be found at the Davao City People's Park (former PTA Grounds, along Camus Street), is said to be the first in Mindanao. The musical fountain in People's Park Davao is also a part of the yearly Pasko Fiesta, which the Davao government holds to usher in the holidays. I don't have a photo of the grand m...

Aug242009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Rumored presidentiable Sen. Chiz Escudero and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte share a light moment during Kadayawan Festival 2009

Blogging, Davao City, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, Personalities, Photos, Politics

Fans of rumored presidentiable Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte will love the picture in this Mindanaoan blog entry. Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero was one of the main guests of Mayor Rody during festivities marking the city’s Kadayawan Festival 2009 last August 22, 2009. Judging by the happy smiles on the faces of these two popular political personalities, do you think this is a sign of an alliance to come? WHAT DO YOU THINK? In his visits to Mindanao, by the way, Escudero has repeatedly called for increased investments by government in agriculture and infrastructure to maximize the island’s economic potential.

Jul82009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Sara Duterte declared as the next mayor of Davao City

Controversial, Davao City, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News, Opinion, Personalities, Photos

MINDANAO - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte is bequeathing his thrown throne (thanks for pointing out this typo, Sir Mike! Ayayay!) And his daughter, Davao City Vice Mayor Sara "Inday Sara" Duterte is, naturally, next in line. Recently, I was in my hometown Davao City for a Philippine Councilors League gig. The boys provided the live band entertainment the night the closing ceremonies was held (June 27 at Grand Regal Hotel Ballroom, Lanang) and there were roughly a thousand councilors from all over the Philippines present. The night's guest speaker was no other than Inday Sara. Actually, while the boys and I were waiting for the program to begin, you could hear the buzz. A lot of councilors were curious about her --- how she looked like (how come she didn't look like her fath...