There is absolutely no argument Davao City has become a very dynamic highly urbanized metropolis. Its stable peace and economic growth are veritable beacons to investors who are taking advantage of its progressive developments. Thank you for the legacy of Duterte’s brand of leadership.
The vibrant economy have given birth to more investment opportunities. There is however an accompanying challenges which City Hall and the the City Council must address. The capital which investors are placing in the City have to be assured of protective, transparent and stable policies that are not subject to overnight changes.
We have heard of radical changes in the edict that declared Barangay Catigan as a tourism development area. Not a few took up the challenge and set up private and family weekend resort in anticipation of road infrastructures leading to Catigan before investing huge amount of capital in real tourism projects.
Others have gone ahead and invested large sums of money to purchase logged over and cogonal areas. From what we gathered they started reforesting the lands they acquired with pine trees which have grown well in the cool atmosphere in Catigan.
Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort started with a modest hotel with rooms that are equipped with modern facilities that could outclass Western and European mountain resorts. It has a separate reception building that also houses a bar, a restaurant and swimming pools that gives you a sight of the vast expanse of Davao City and the gulf.
We heard from the neighborhood that the owners of Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort bought additional adjacent areas where to expand for additional hotel rooms, amenities and camp sites. When they applied for a building permit however they were advised that Catigan had been reclassified into “progressive forest” area and that their plan to expand the resort infrastructure cannot be granted.
And there lies the curse. There is an acute need for the heads of the Executive and Legislative departments to undergo a seminar of city development planning. There is a serious disconnect between the city planners and the legislators which undermines the interests of investors we wanted to lure to Davao City. A subaltern of the City Mayor cannot be above the Mayor himself or ignore the city ordinance. In the case of Barangay Catigan a subordinate cannot brush aside the Council’s Committee on Tourism and in connivance with the City Planning Office alter the classification of the area into a Progressive Forest. We doubt seriously whether Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre who heads the Tourism Department or Tek Ocampo of Environment Committee ever heard of Progressive Forest.
The City Leadership should be circumspect about planning and development of the city. In the case of Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort, it too invested in reforesting what was once a cogonal area. Reclassifying the area will force tourism investors to relocate elsewhere. Let us see whether a capitalist will invest in progressive forest otherwise we will be back in cogonal land.
