Davao CROCODILE PARK
The Davao CROCODILE PARK has been around for years. It was one of places where onle school children go to for field trips.
Last year, the Dizon family-owned park moved to a new and better home. After the change of location and the improved amenities, locals and tourists started to flock to the place to see animals, interact with nature and have some fun.
Although the park is not a full-pledged zoo, it is one of the few places in the city where children (and adults too) can learn more about the rich flora and fauna of Davao City and the rest of the Philippines.
On Sundays, families and barkadas flock to the park to be amazed at the antics of the lazy but fierce crocodiles, the colorful plumes of birds, and the freaky lizards and the rare mammals.
The Davao CROCODILE PARK, located along the Ma-a Diversion Road is a mere 15-30 mins. drive from the heart of Davao City.
Davao CROCODILE PARK: Crocodiles
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Juvenile Croc
Big Croc
Pangil, the Largest and Oldest Croc
Images courtesy of Ma. Christina Cabreira.
Davao CROCODILE PARK: More Crocodiles
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Feeding Time
Baby Crocs
Images courtesy of Ma. Christina Cabreira.
Davao Crocodile Park: Other Animals
There are also other animals within the Davao Crocodile Park.
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Like this bird
and this tiny mammal from the cat family
Aside from these, there are also gorillas, a flying squirrel, lizards, and colorful birds.
Images courtesy of Ma. Christina Cabreira.
Hilas
In response to mickeytymoc’s inquiry about the meaning of hilas…
Hilas is a Bisaya (or is it distinctly Davaoeño?) word which doesn’t really have any direct translation in English or Filipino/Tagalog. It can mean one or any combination of the following:
OA (over acting)
feeling (as in feeling gwapo, feeling mayaman, etc)
mayabang
pompous
pretentious
overly sensitive
KSP (kulang sa pansin)
maarte
maangas.
Some examples of situations in which you may use hilas…
- when somebody who knows how to speak bisaya insists on speaking in tagalog/filipino or english
- someone pretends to speak with a twang
- a friend suddenly gets pikon when being teased
- somebody acts out of character or pretends to be someone he/she is not
- somebody writes something unusually sentimental in his friendster testimonial or profile
Hope I answered/explained it sufficiently. 
Good luck Glaiza Mae Dagondon!!!
University of Mindanao (UM) Civil Engineering student Glaiza Mae Dagondon is the Philippines’ only representative to the 6th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Skills Competition computer-aided drawing and design (CADD) category. The competition will be held on September 4-13 in Berakas, Brunei Darussalam.
SOCOM’s gallery: updated
Curious about the latest bug to hit Davao called Airsoft war games? Visit the Southern Commandos website and see the new pictures they have uploaded.
Patmei B. Ruivivar: My Davao
Ms. Patmei B. Ruvivar, in her Sunstar Davao column Yellow Box (March 3, 2004), explains why she’s staying in Davao for good…
Where else can you sit through one hour of repetitive lecture and expletives from your mayor on a Sunday morning while preparing for mass and still find it in your heart not only to include him in your prayers, but to actually vote for him again and again?
Where else can you take your sweet time going to your appointment because everywhere seems to be about five minutes away (yes, even with the so-called traffic we have now) and actually be honest about your reason for being late (such as “I forgot”) and people still being gracious about it?
In Davao, I never experienced discrimination. I always felt embraced wherever I went. There are no places exclusively for the rich or ghettos for the poor. Anyone can walk into Marco Polo or Waterfront Insular Hotel in shorts and slippers and still be treated with respect. Because the rich and famous here do not dress or eat or talk differently from the rest of us. They are our friends, neighbors, schoolmates. We call them by their cute nicknames, even.
Perhaps, the most heinous crime you could ever commit in this city (aside from those mentioned by Mayor Duterte in his daily lectures) is to be “hilas” (there is actually no direct English translation for this, is there?). If you have to make an effort to be known by throwing your weight around and announcing how important you are, then you are not really from here.
Because in Davao, people are relatively secure. We know who we are. We know we are in the best place in the world. We won’t rave about it too much for fear that everybody will want to move here. Nothing scares the Dabawenyo more than being uprooted from Davao. You can bomb the hell out of us, but we won’t leave this place.
Kudos to Ms. Ruvivar for articulating what many of us may find too “hilas” to say.
DAVAO CITY: One of Philippines’ Most Competitive
The Asian Institue of Management (AIM) Policy Center has released the results of their Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005 (PCCRP 2005). For the PCCRP 2005, AIM evaluated Philippine cities using the “seven major drivers of competitiveness.” These drivers include the cost of doing business, dynamism of local economy, linkages and accessibility, human resources and training, infrastructure, responsiveness of local government to business needs, and quality of life.
Davao City was evaluated in the Metro category along with the cities comprising Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. And Davao was among the top 5 in terms of competitiveness, along with Las Piñas, Makati, Marikina, and Muntinlupa.
Other Mindanao cities included in the list are Iligan (Mid-size), Koronadal (Small), Surigao (Small), and Tagum (Small).
Click here to download the complete report from the AIM website.
Mutya ng Dabaw 2006: JOHANNE BERNICE GUIRGEN
Joey Guirgen flanked by Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2006 Lia Ramos and Jovine Narajos, Mutya ng Dabaw 2005
{photo from Sunstar Davao, March 17, 2006}
Congratulations to JOHANNE BERNICE “Joey” GUIRGEN for besting the four other finalists to bag the Mutya ng Dabaw 2006 title!!!
Joey won the crown over Shelwyn “Winky” Ponce, Lorraine “Reine” Schaap, Maria “Rea” Horfilla and Diana “Yan-yan” Liao.
Joey is currently enrolled at the Philippine Women’s College of Davao, taking up BS Hotel and Restaurant Management. Last 2005, she also joined the Mutya ng Pilipinas beauty contest, which was done in a reality show format. In the said competition, Joey showed off her dancing prowess which won her the Best in Talent Award. She was also one of the six finalists in the said competition.
Robbed Twice Over by Councilor Peter Laviña
In the year 2000, the Philippine national government withheld a portion of the internal revenue (IRA) share of the city government of Davao in the amount of P 91 million. The following year, another P 116 million was not released. That totals to a whopping P 207 million. Therefore, the local government was deprived of such a huge amount to deliver the much-needed public services to our people for over five years now.
This money is the “just share” of our city from the collection of national taxes. The national government has no right to withhold it. Both the Constitution and the Local Government Code are clear about this. The Constitution says this just share in the national taxes “shall be automatically released” to local governments. The LGC, on the other hand, said this “shall be automatically and directly released to them without need of any further action.”
In the case Alternative Center for Organizational Reforms and Development, Inc. v. Zamora, 459 SCRA 578 (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the setting aside of a portion of the IRA by the executive or the legislative departments of government is unconstitutional.
Clearly, the national government erred in not releasing this fund to the local governments which amounted to P 20 billion in the two years. It owes the city government of Davao P 207 million. I know of a number of banks that offer to double your money in five years. This could have amounted to over P 400 million by now!
Nyet. Well, that’s wishful thinking.
The national government allegedly has no money and so it cannot pay its debt to the local governments. But in the meantime, it continues to lick the asses of foreign creditor banks by automatically appropriating debt service under the national budget. As much as 40 percent of the national budget goes to debt service payments.
But money for local governments, nyet!
So, to pay for this withheld sum, the national government is embarking on a miracle. It is called the Monetization of IRA Collectibles for Local Empowerment (MIRACLE). Under this scheme local governments have the option to get their money from government designated trustee banks at a discounted value of 70 percent or get it in seven equal annual installments over the next seven years starting next year.
Well, this looks to me like highway robbery than a miracle.
Imagine our just share of the taxes withheld from us for over five years and now they plan to release it to us at either a discount or in installment!
What a miracle! We’re being robbed twice over!
This article was originally posted in the blog of Davao City First District Councilor Peter Laviña. Laviña also submitted this for his column at the Mindanao Times.
Councilor Peter Laviña’s Blog
Davao City 1st District Councilor Peter Tiu Laviña has recently launched his own blog over at Peter Laviña.
He tackles local legislation, counsil sessions, and his other interests such as F1.
Binibining Pilipinas – Ms Universe 2006: Lia Andrea Ramos
CONGRATULATIONS to Davaoeña LIA ANDREA RAMOS!!!
She bested other Binibining Pilipinas 2006 candidates to get the crown and honor of representing the country in the Miss Universe 2006 competition.
