Just about a month ago, heavy rainfall caused flash floods in parts of Davao City. A phalanx of anti-Duterte critics in and out of the House of Romualdez and the Palace by the Pasig River feasted on scenes of vehicles fording flooded streets.
But their euphoria was brief. The flood receded in less than two hours.
I remember how La Union Congressman Paolo Ortega gloated over the flash flood in Davao City. He cannot get over it — until his own province went underwater, wrecking farms and displacing people when incessant rains hit Metro Manila and Central and Northern Luzon.
Today, Davao City is in the midst of its annual celebration of the Kadayawan Festival, which has drawn domestic and foreign tourists. It’s sunshine here.
We are, however, appalled by reports that three more low pressure areas are approaching Luzon, with a typhoon to follow. These will, for certain, usher more rain for Metro Manila and Luzon.
We fervently hope these disturbances will dissipate. After all, we are one nation. We have sons and daughters and kin in Luzon, the National Capital Region, Visayas, and Mindanao. Your problems and predicament are ours too, despite the ambiance of toxic politics.
Last week I had a brief sojourn in Manila. The moment we were in Luzon airspace, we experienced turbulence. I peeked through the window and saw nothing but a thick expanse of dark clouds. As we approached NAIA, our plane stabbed through a carpet of nimbus clouds that greeted us with copious rain. It never ceased until we came back to Davao six days later.
The festive atmosphere in Davao City pervades as I write this piece. Kadayawan is a traditional celebration of the various ethnic tribes and pioneers that inhabit the city. It is thanksgiving for the bonanza of harvest from its fertile lands, and for the stable peace and unity among its people.
From the Davao City ports come exports of Cavendish bananas, durians, processed and fresh tuna, and exotic marine fishes raised in cages in Davao Gulf. We export to Japan, the Middle East, China, and elsewhere. We are not hobbled by irrational foreign policies. We keep the dictum of our former Mayor and President, Rodrigo Duterte: “Friends to all and enemy to none.”
Davao City is endowed by Mother Nature with rich aquifers — our source of potable water — and rivers from where our alternate sources of treated surface water are derived. The Davao City Water District has the distinction of being the best-managed water district in the country. The joint bulk water project of DCWD and Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. has yet to be equaled by any project of its kind.
We enjoy a 4th type of climate, which means we do not have distinct hot or rainy seasons. For the past three years, the city has experienced an unprecedented influx of billions of pesos worth of capital investments, creating modern townships and growth centers citywide.
Davao City ranked number one in the Philippines in CEOWORLD Magazine’s 2025–2026 list of top cities for living, working, and investing in.
Davao City is more than four times the size of Metro Manila. It has seven major rivers and a number of tributaries and waterways where waters from surrounding mountains, including Mt. Apo, flow out to Davao Gulf. But our rivers have never become dumping grounds for garbage — unlike what we see today in the Parañaque River and Manila Bay.
By the way, we have our own share of garbage problems, brought about by the intransigence of the DENR in not allowing the disposal of waste after the city government restored the damaged portion of the city’s sanitary landfill. Our City Mayor promptly looked for an alternate dumping site.
On the other hand, Marcos appears shocked by the sea of trash and paralyzed into inaction. He appointed Nicolas Torre as Chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority. Torre’s first act was to declare that drainage systems were intentionally plugged with debris. As usual, the blame game.
For her part, Palace spokesperson Claire Castro has even suspected that some of the waste must have come from Davao.
Today, in sunny Davao City, we celebrate Kadayawan. It was formally opened by Vice President Inday Sara Duterte in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from various foreign embassies.
Meanwhile, on Facebook and in traditional media, administration propagandists and an army of trolls could only highlight Bongbong Marcos distributing stuffed toys to flood victims.
The contrast speaks for itself.
Mabuhay and welcome to Davao City’s Kadayawan Festival!
