16 September 2014 – The Philippine Consulate General in Manado, led by Consul General Jose D.R. Burgos, successfully launched the Inaugural Manado-Davao-Manado Direct Chartered Flight by Sriwijaya Air on September 01. North Sulawesi Governor Dr. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang joined the inaugural direct flight to visit Davao and General Santos Cities from September 01 to 03.
The said visit was envisioned to strengthen the close friendship and cooperation between Southern Mindanao and North Sulawesi. The Governor was hosted in Davao City by Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte. Ninety-three (93) local and regional VIPs, including high-level officials, businessmen,members of the academe and the media joined the Governor in the visit, under the auspices of the direct flight project which serves to connect the two sister-regions as well as build on concrete developments involving trade, infrastructure, the movement of people, goods and services. It is also intended to reinvigorate the sister-city agreements between Davao and Manado and Bitung and General Santos Cities.
Held back-to-back with the Governor’s visit to Davao, a Davao Business Delegation organized by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) visited Manado, Amurang and Bitung Cities to take part in a business mission in anticipation of the impending launch of of the Davao-General Santos-Tahuna-Bitung (DGTB) Shipping Service, which is scheduled to be launched latee this month. The four-person business delegation was led by Mr. Vicente T. Lao, Chair of the Mindanao Business Council (MBC) and MinDA Board Member, together with spouse Rosalita Lao, representative of Vicente T. Lao Construction, Mr. Bonifacio P. Fernandez of BF Industries, Inc. and Ms Anelyn G. Binancilan, MinDA representative. The delegation was assisted by Consul General Burgos, Mdm. Blesilda M. Burgos and Consulate General personnel.
During the course of the visit, the Mindanao Business Delegation met with counterpart local businessmen, high-level officials and stakeholders, including the North Sulawesi Vice Governor Dr. Djouri Kansil. The members of the Mindanao delegation discussed with their local counterparts potential products for trade between Mindanao and North Sulawesi, particulary the ways by which each region may be able to capitalize on the strengths of each other. Of particular note was the high demand for yellow corn for livestock feed in the Philippines which may be met by supply from North Sulawesi via the DGTB shipping route. Likewise, Mindanao may be able to process raw materials from North Sulawesi, such as copra and its byproducts, as well as charcoal, which Mindanao could process into charcoal briquettes and activated carbon.
The Mindanao Business delegation also took the time to visit Amurang City, South Minahasa on the possibility of potential Philippine investments in education-related projects such as a hospital, medical and nursing school, aviation training, and special agricultural projects. Likewise, the delegation visited Bitung City Port to inspect facilities for the launch of the Davao-General Santos-Tahuna-Bitung shipping service. END