Davao City’s ‘sisters’

BY MAYA M. PADILLO

What do Bacoor City in Cavite, Nanning City in China, and County of Kaua’i, Hawaii in the USA have in common?

They are all sister cities of Davao City.

What makes for sister cities?

Like partnerships, it takes two to tango.

When two communities from different cities or countries come together to forge a cordial and meaningful relationship, a Sister City agreement is formally established. People, ideas, culture, education, and technology are exchanged between the two cities.

Sister Cities is an initiative started by Dwight D. Eisenhower shortly after World War II. Its purpose is to develop economic, cultural and technological exchanges between cities, counties and states of the United States with similar communities around the world.

Based on the data from the Davao City Investment and Promotions Center (DCIPC), Davao City has sister cities from the Phil- ippines, from other Asian countries, and from the United States. These sister city agreements promote solidarity and cooperation, which is an essential part of mutual growth and development.

In the Philippines, Davao City has sisterhood agreements with Angeles City in Pampanga; San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan; Municipality of Liloan in Cebu; San Juan City, Quezon City, Marikina City in Metro Manila; Municipality of Basud in Camarines Norte, Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte, and Bacoor City in Cavite.

For Asian countries, Davao City is bonded with Nanning City, Jinjiang City and municipality of Chongqing in China; Kitakyushu City in Japan and Bitung City and Manado City of North Sulawesi in Indonesia.

In United States, the city’s twin sisters are Tacoma in Washington and County of Kaua’i in Hawaii.

They are like siblings of Davao City in terms of educational exchanges, cultural events, business partnerships, and support in times of need.

Take for example Nanning and Jinjiang cities of China. In the height of Covid-19 pandemic, Nanning Municipal People’s Government donated face masks to Davao City while Jinjiang Municipal People’s Government, Fil-Chinese Multi-sectoral Association, and PanPan Groups donated boxes of medical supplies.

Consul General Li Lin of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Davao said the sisterhood between Davao City and China’s Nanning, Jinjiang, and Chongqing were signed by former mayor Rodrigo Duterte, former mayor Sara Duterte, and Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte respectively.

He said Jinjiang is one of the most economically dynamic cities in Fujian Province, the ancestral hometown of the 90 percent of the Filipino-Chinese in Davao and in the Philippines including Dr. Jose Rizal.

He added that Jinjiang has already taken the lead by sending big delegation during the Araw ng Davao and signed a series of Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with Davao, including the resumption of Jinjiang-Davao direct flights.

“All the three sister cities are highly industrialized with convenient infrastructure. They have the plan to continue enhancing friendly exchanges and practical cooperation with Davao City,” Lin said.

Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. said sister city agreements are opportunities to form alliances and joint ventures which will be good for the business and tourism sectors of Davao City.

“We should take advantage of sister city relationships with other cities in our country and abroad for there are many lessons to be learned and opportunities to take advantage of in many key aspects. Sister City agreements are important because it allows and makes possible the exchange of ideas, some of which we can adopt to address whatever existing challenges we face in our city,” he said.

He also mentioned that with sisterhood agreements, there will be sharing of best practices most specially in the aspect of government service.

Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, chair of the Committee on Tourism and Beautification, said sister city agreements can help bolster the city’s tourism, arts and culture sectors.

“Ang isa sa atoang benefits ana is we can explore and benchmark their best practices in their respective areas. Si Nanning naghatag sa atoa ug buses and they can also help us sa city government of Davao and also Jinjiang naay mga firetrucks and buses also. Dako kaayo ni ug help in terms of those aspects sa atong mga sister city agreements and there is a constant communication. Sa atoang plans kauban nato ang atoang mga sister cities to do business here,” he said.