VOL. 6 ISSUE 233 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014
P 15.00 • 20 PAGES
www.edgedavao.net
EDGEDAVAO RODY FACTOR Davao City has Serving a seamless society
‘good chance’of hosting APEC 2015
By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. abf@edgedavao.net
D
AVAO City has another swing factor its the bid to host the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) meeting next year. Call it the “Mayor Rodrigo Duterte factor.” This was the positive assessment of city Tourism Officer Lisette Marques in a chance interview yesterday after the regular department heads meeting at the City Hall. Marques said that the APEC inspection team is looking favorably at Davao City’s hosting capability because of Mayor Duterte’s strong political will on top of the city’s security preparedness. She told reporters that the city did not just bid for the hosting, but cabinet secretaries endorsed it believing in the city’s security team.
“We are just really showcasing our best practices, especially our security aspect which exceeded their expectations,” said Marques. Aside from security, Marques revealed that the inspection team was also impressed by the strong political will of Mayor Duterte which they consider as an additional factor. The inspection by organizers of the venues, such as the SMX Convention Center in SM Lanang Premiere, where the convention could be held, proved more than enough for the requirements set. Although the APEC National Organizing Committee was non-committal about the city’s chances, Marques said one team member vouched to choose the city. “With that, at least we
already have an in the national level,” she said. Marques assured that the city is ‘more than prepared’ for the hosting with the addition of more convention centers in city, aside from the fact that “we have already handled similar events before. We hosted APEC 1996. They went as far as ‘Pearl Farm ’that time.” Marques said the city also has 6,000 hotel rooms and 160 accommodations, more than enough to suffice the needs of the delegates. “Marami na tayong mga new players; last year we had three more big ones belonging to international chains of accommodations with suites sufficient for that level,” Marques added. She said that these rooms could accommodate heads of state of participating countries.
TOP SPEED. A rider’s motorcycle wheelies when it hits top speed during the elimination round of Raider Breed Wars, Suzuki Philippines’ national drag racing competition, at the new Tagum City Hall grounds last Sunday. Lean Daval Jr.
SPEED LIMIT
Number of violators increasing: TMG By EMILORD P. CASTROMAYOR
T
epc@edgedavao.net
HE Davao City Police Office Traffic management Group has been apprehending an increasing number of violators of the speed limit
ordinance, usually privately-owned vehicles, now with a total number of 821 offenders in just over two months of implementation.
P/Senior Inspector Paulino A. Zaulda Jr., deputy officer of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) of the Davao City Police Of-
FSPEED, 10