THE City Government of Davao is eyeing more partnerships with local and international cities after recently forging a sisterhood agreement with Sennan in Osaka, Japan.
Davao City Councilor Augusto Javier “Javi” Campos III, chairperson of the Committee on International Relations, bared this during the Katikaran sa Konseho program of the 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) Thursday, June 1.
Campos said, “We have pending resolutions for our sisters to be – Bayswater in Perth, Australia; Island Garden City of Samal, and Monterey Park in California, which has the largest Asian-American population in California. These have yet to be passed.”
He said the city is also eyeing sisterhood deals with a city in South Korea and Israel.
Forging sister city agreements, according to him, aims to enhance the exchange of best governance practices and identify areas of cooperation.
“Sometimes, it’s cooperation in tourism, security, or trade. It also boosts the exchange of people and ideas with the hope that more investors will come and more direct flights will be added to open Davao City for more people to experience,” he said. “At the same time, Dabawenyos can also visit their places and see what they have to offer and bring the best back to our city.”
Davao City currently has 10 foreign and 13 local sister cities.
The city partnered with Bitung in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Manado, North Sulawesi in 1993; Tacoma in Washington State, USA in 1994; Koror in Palau, USA and Nanning, China in 2007; Kitakyushu, Japan in 2017; Kauai County in Hawaii, USA and Jinchang, China in 2018; Chongqing, China in 2019; and Senan, Japan in 2023.
Davao City’s sister cities in the country include Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte (2000); Angeles City, Pampanga (2015); Basud, Camarines Norte (2015); San Jose del Monte, Bulacan (2015); Liloan, Cebu; San Juan, Quezon City, and Marikina in Metro Manila (2018), Zamboanga City (2019); Tagudin, Ilocos Sur (2019); Pandi, Bulacan (2020); and Mati City, Davao Oriental (2022).
He also said there is a pending resolution appreciating the Embassy of Israel for opening a consular office in the city in 2020. Campos said, “They have been very active in innovation. Most recently, they donated equipment and materials worth US$9,000 to the City Health Office for upgrading three health centers.” (CIO)