VM Baste leads China delegation

VICE Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte yesterday left for a five-day trip to China from Nov. 17 to 18 to sign an initial agreement that will lead to the forging of a sister city pact between Davao City and Chongqing City.

Matias Regis, technical adviser for Special Concerns of the Davao City Investment and Promotions Center (DCIPC), told MindaNews on Sunday the signing of a memorandum of understanding would be part of the highlights of the presidential son’s visit to Chongqing, a city located in southwest China known as a manufacturing hub for electronic gadgets.

Regis clarified that the signing would just be part of an initial activity for the eventual forging of the sister city agreement since Mayor Sara Duterte is the only signing authority acknowledged by the City Council here.

“The signing is just intended to jumpstart everything or signify our intention that the city wants to forge a sister city pact with Chongqing. And for this trip, the city wants to encourage more businesses from Chongqing to invest in Davao,” he added.

Davao has two existing Chinese sister cities—Jinjiang in Fujian and Nanning in Guangxi. This will be the first time that the presidential son will lead

a delegation from Davao in his capacity as the vice mayor.

Regis said DCIPC head and former city councilor April Marie Dayap, city councilors Mabel Acosta, Pamela Librado, Danilo Dayanghirang, Diosdado Angelo Mahipus, Alberto Ungab, Myrna Ortiz and Jesus Joseph Zozobrado join the rookie vice mayor in the fiveday mission.

The mission, which came as an invitation of Chinese Consul General Li Lin, also seeks to attract more Chinese investors to consider Davao as an offshore investment destination, Regis said. He added that Duterte is expected to meet Chinese business executives in a businessto-business meeting to “further encourage them to invest in Davao City.”

“The visit will help strengthen the relationship of Davao and Chongqing as we build our sister city relationship with them and also strengthen the exchanges and cooperation, especially in trade and economy. This could help facilitate investments of businesses from Chongqing here in Davao,” Regis added.

Aside from Chongqing, the delegation will also visit Jinjiang and Guangzhou. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)