Our City Government of Davao Award

We felt so inspired and moved by the gesture of Mayor Sara Z. Duterte of the City government of Davao. My organization, PILIPINA Legal Resources Center and we were “chosen to be recognized …. in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the City government of Davao as one of the organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions to the economic growth and development of the City through the years.”

The specific citation for us was that we helped draft the Davao City Women Development Code and joined in its monitoring and watch after it became a law, among many others.

Davao City is 75 years old and so in an iconic gesture, the City government of Davao decided to award 75 organizations and individuals, for the first time, apart from the other legendary Datu Bago Award.

Five of the Davao City awardees from the civil society sector are members of PHILSSA, our national network of NGOs working for the urban poor. Davao City takes care of its poor and so it is fitting that the City awards those who toil for the urban poor. The five PHILSSA members are PLRC, Salorsed, BFI, Kardams, & DC Upnet.
Seventy five (75) organizations and individuals may sound outstanding and elite few given that Davao City has a population of 1.5 million citizens, still I felt there are many of us from the various sectors who care for Davao City.

I felt inspired and I hope that these “diamond few” will also inspire the mass of citizens who are so electronically wired to the rest of the world but who are just going on with their lives oblivious to the many problems of our times and climes here in our own Davao City.

When one works in the social development world, it is so easy to feel that development work is our monopoly, even as the women and men in the economic and business and profit sector which bring revenues and jobs to Davao City are just as outstanding. Equally outstanding also are the women and men from the academe, from the cooperatives, from the health sectors, and the rest who contribute to the economic growth and development of Davao City.

I think one of the reasons for this “development work is my monopoly attitude” is because so much of our work in the social sector is so pro bono and non profit. One works as much but the returns are in terms of psychic rewards rather than more money and more wealth. And so, the challenge for us now is how to prepare & persuade a successor generation that there is life in this calling or that it pays to work in the social development world because one’s legacy is as palpable as social infrastructures built. These are social institutions built. And institutions are material practices and better ways of doing things that are compelling and lasting because they have become public policy.

From here on, the way to go is to promote corporate social responsibility and campaign for the concept that we are all just custodians of the wealth and resources of this world for the benefit of all.

Another way to go is to promote changes through policy and law. If mining is bad for the environment, then we should have a law that makes it illegal just as smoking is illegal in public places.

We need funds so that our city and country can fund all its programs and projects and so our city government should pay attention to tax evasion by people from the center of wealth & power to send a strong message and to correctly establish the ideal relationship between the government and the citizen taxpayer. As the saying goes, death and taxes are the only two things certain in life. In history, we remember our heroes and activist forefathers and mothers who campaigned against “taxation without representation.”

Still, it is inefficient to collect taxes from the poor. It is inefficient as the cost of collection is high because the taxable units are small. The poor are our fisherfolks as well as our farmers in the highlands of Davao City whose incomes are seasonal and our urban poor whose incomes are unstable. Yet, these poor contribute to making Davao City beautiful and livable.

Finally, I wish to thank the trustees and officers of PILIPINA Legal Resources Center:
Irene M. Santiago, Dr Iris Melliza, Atty Emelina Quintillan, former Congresswoman Patricia M. Sarenas, Former Commissioner Luzminda B. Salcedo, Atty Alice Morada, Ruth Montojo
and PLRC fellows: Cecile, Jacqueline Pelayo, Atty Raissa Jajurie, Atty Mae Pacinabao, Lyca Sarenas, Espie Nonesa, Eme Antigua, Amy S. Villaluz, Danny Sevilla, Atty Adoracion Avisado, Atty Mila Macaraig, Linda Montanez, the late Connie Sardinia, Ben Bugayong, Ella Arpafo, Mary Lou "Belo" Caharian, Kaye Antonio, Ludette Badelles, Kim Loraine B Castillo, Jessica Jose, Ian Clark Parcon, Theresa Eliab, Dick Balderrama, Jojo Dawa, Junard Phoenix Amba, funders, hundreds of paralegals, and hundreds of women and men partners and volunteers.

Congratulations and more power to the 2012 “diamond 75” awardees of Davao City!