Davao’s awards and recognitions

Davao City today is a far cry from its inception from the reign of Jose Oyanguren in 1848 as first Spanish Administrator of Davao. Centuries passed as a departure to a primitive Davao, we have for the time being the influential Dutertes in politics under whose hands the fate of this city lies. But the truth remains that our soil is a mute witness to the rich yet perplexed history of Davao and its people.  

History is an integral part of the present to lend credence to that truism expressed in Filipino that is, “Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan”. However, I may be very interested in our history but let me give space in this issue the different awards and recognitions our city garnered in the very recent past, as archived in our memory.

1.  MOST OUTSTANDING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE ADVOCATE conferred on March 01,2012 during the 2^nd Outstanding Healthy Lifestyle Advocacy Awards which was awarded to the Davao City Health Office by the Department of Health (DOH) and World Health Organization (WHO).

2. BEST PRACTICES AWARD conferred in connection to the National Drive Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (NDAPSSS), 2011.

3. SEAL OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE, 2011 (DILG) which complied the criteria like sound fiscal Management and Accountable and Transparent Governance.

4. 1^st PLACE IN THE BEST BOOTH IN THE TRAVEL FAIR, CITY CATEGORY AND THE OVERALL CHAMPION AS TRAVEL FAIR PEOPLE'S CHOICE, 2010 and 2011 Awarded during the 21^st and 22^nd Philippine Travel Mart, a nationwide tourism fair held in Manila.

5. CHAMPION IN DOING BUSINESS IN THE PHILIPPINES having ranked first in Ease of Dealing with Construction Permits.

6. RED ORCHID AWARD FOR ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN. The landmark Anti-Smoking Ordinance of 2002 gave the city a nicotine-free environment making it recipient of the prestigious Red Orchid Award of the Department of Health in 2010 and 2011 during the World No Tobacco Day.

7. GLOBAL SMOKEFREE PARTNERSHIP (GSP) AWARDEE. This award was given by GSP, a multi-partner initiative coordinated by the American Cancer Society and the Framework Convention Alliance for the city’s exceptional leadership and commitment to implement a smoke-free environment. The City of the Davao is the only LGU to have such award.

8. RANKED NO. 1 IN THE TOP TEN NEXT WAVE CITIES. The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry ranked Davao Top One in the list of outsourcing sites in the country.

9. BEST QUALITY OF LIFE.  Conferred by the Asian Institute Of Management (Aim) in 2010, Davao City also bagged others citations which include: Special Award on the Compliance to Government Plans and Programs , Special Award in Documentation, for providing the AIM with a very good documentation of Davao City’s system,  An Entrepreneur’s Award, for being the most small and medium enterprises- friendly .

10. DAVAO CITY POLICE (DCPO) AS BEST POLICE OFFICE. For the seventh time, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) was adjudged in 2009 as the country’s best police office.

11. OUTSTANDING LIBRARY IN THE PHILIPPINES, 2009 - Garnering a perfect score of 100 percent, Davao City Library got the top spot for the most outstanding Library in the Philippines. It was the first time in the history that the public library got a perfect score.

12. MOST RESPONSIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT IN THE ENTIRE PHILIPPINES – by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women

13. MOST COMPETITIVE METRO CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES, 2001, 2003, 2005 – Awarded by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) the city having excelled in such indicators like quality of life, cost of doing business, dynamism of the local economy, infrastructure, linkages and accessibility, and quality of workforce.

14. OUTSTANDING CULTURE-FRIENDLY CITY recognized by the Office of the President, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and UNESCO.

15. HALL OF FAMER . The City Health Office was hailed “Hall of Famer” for the PPMD (Private-Public mix DOTS) star performer Award given by the Department of Health

16. MOST UPDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS and First to Implement the Electronic – Government Accounting System (e-NGAS)  conferred by the National Commission on Audit

17. NATIONAL AWARDEE FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AS A SERVICE PROVIDER, Davao City Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents as conferred by Department of Education (DepEd)

18. MOST OUTSTANDING LGU under the Highly Ubanized Category, given by the Literacy Coordination Council

19. MOST LIVABLE CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES - Based on annual surveys made by Asiaweek on the 40 Best Cities in Asia, Davao City has consistently made it to the Top 20 for four consecutive years (1996-1999).

20. MOST CHILD-FRIENDLY CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1999, 2000 - Davao City came out the runaway choice for the top plum owing to its local government’s programs and initiatives directly benefiting its children, especially with the passage of the Davao City Children’s Welfare Code of 1994. 

21. MOST OUTSTANDING REGIONAL PEACE AND ORDER COUNCIL, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005.  The quest for peace has become very expensive and very elusive in some isolated parts of Mindanao. However, there is one region where peace has become a price possession that its leaders never want such ideal condition slip out from their hands .

22. MOST PEACEFUL CITY IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA, 1998-2005 One of the biggest come-ons of an area is an ideal peace and order condition. The dramatic decrease of crime rate in Davao City is big deal considering that it used to have a very unstable peace and order during the Marcos’ regime that ended in a bloodless revolution in February 1986.

23. 2ND PLACE, LGU LITERACY AWARD IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1999 This award is given to local government units that seek to improve literacy within their area through programs that will ensure the establishment of learning institutions even in the most remote rural areas. Davao City has registered one of the highest literacy rates in the country and in Southeast Asia at 98.05%.

24. 2ND BEST CITY HEALTH OFFICE IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1999 The local Government of Davao ranked a close second in operating a City Health Office that delivers free and very affordable services to its constituents aside from implementing health programs that focuses on prevention of sickness and illnesses.

25. THE CLEANEST AND GREENEST CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1999-2005 (Highly urbanized category). The city in pump-priming its economy through local and foreign investors for the past several years has also been employing a balanced ecology, very rigid in the protection of its watershed and coastal areas.

26. MOST OUTSTANDING WATER UTILITY IN ASIA, 1996, 1997, 1998 (Awarded in Singapore to Davao City Water District) - A recognition given to four water utilities in Asia, and Davao City’s water district is one of them. The Davao City Water District has been supplying quality potable water to residents of the city.

27. DESTINATION OF THE YEAR, 1997 KALAKBAY AWARDS - Aside from being chosen as the Destination of the Year by the Kalakbay Awards, tourism facilities within the city were also recognized with the highest honors in 1997.