DAVAO CITY—Part of the reason millions of voters supported President Rodrigo Duterte is his promise to replicate across the country the reforms he implemented in his 40 years as a public servant of Davao City, which has been hailed for its peace and order and business-friendly climate.
In the recent survey of numbeo.com the city ranked 20 among the safest cities in the world, with 1.7 million people living securely.
City Councilor Bernard Al-ag said the city is still the top Philippine exporter of banana and pineapple. The other booming businesses in Davao City are real estate and tourism.
In Mindanao, Davao City has the most number of hotels and malls as of the moment, which shows the confidence investors have in the city.
Duterte achieved all this by increasing the city’s intelligence fund. Due to this, a Malaysian suicide bomber was killed in Davao City’s People’s Park before his bomb exploded. The Davao City Police Office was also able to rescue a Chinese businesswoman who was kidnapped.
The President at that time kept on repeating that an intelligence fund should always be used by the local government, failure to do so can be considered negligence of duty.
According to City Information Office head, Jefry Tupas, Davao became attractive to investors because of the government’s effective anti-crime campaign implementation.
“The Duterte administration made sure that the city is secured, believing that if the city is free from threats—both external and internal—business will naturally thrive. The business environment in Davao was successfully protected over the years and this is the strength of the city,” Tupas said.
Davao City has gone a long way from the 1990s when it faced criminality and rebellion. Its problem was not only limited to criminals, since it was also the hub of the New People’s Army and terrorists roamed the city. Bombings and killings perpetrated by the Alsa Masa hogged the headlines.
The rebels moved to the hinterlands when Duterte asked them to spare the city from any crimes related to ideology.
According to the city’s website, in 1997 the local government and the management of the Davao Light Power Company cooperated on the Davao City Street Lighting Project to arrest, if not completely put a stop, to the rising tide of criminality in the streets.
Leading to the creation of the city’s central 911 in September 2002.
In March 2003 the Davao City airport was bombed, leaving 21 peopled dead and hundreds injured. After a month, the city’s sea port was also bombed, killing 16 civilians. The President always recalls those bloody incidents, saying he even vowed to kill himself if another explosion occurred.
Those incidents gave way to the birth of Task Force Davao, a group of soldiers tasked to secure the city. However, in February 14, 2005 another explosion rocked the Davao City Over land and Transport Terminal, killing four people even with the presence of the task force, so Duterte intensified security. From then on, the city was always placed on high alert, even without reports of threats, and the city became a haven for the people.
According to Councillor Bernard Al-ag, the city’s economic progress was made possible by the man who is now the President of the country. Al-ag said that it was Duterte who emboldened the billionaires to invest their money in the city with the assurance of safety and the absence of bureaucracy.
Davao City, is the only city in the country that has a free central 911 rescue and response center. It is one of the first cities to enforce an anti-smoking ordinance, a speed limit, a Gender Development Code, and it may be the only city who welcomes rebels to its festival and other celebrations.