DAVAO—The city has received the 1st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Clean Tourist City Award.
The awarding ceremony was held during the Asean Tourism Forum at the Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 26. The cities of San Carlos in Negros Occidental and Pasig City in Metro Manila also received the same award.
On Monday, Mayor Sara Duterte formally received the award from new Davao Tourism Regional Director Antonio Fernando Blanco.
The city was chosen for conforming with the criteria and requirements set by the Asean Clean Tourist City Standard. They include a solid environment management program, cleanliness, waste management, awareness-building about environmental protection and cleanliness, green spaces, health safety, urban safety and security, tourism infrastructure and facilities.
Davao City has set policies to keep its remaining environmental frontiers intact and rehabilitate those that have been damaged, Duterte noted.
“This has been one of the indicators, which is undeniably the important element among all the criteria and policies that relate to the improvement and enhancement of living standards of the general public,” she added.
The award also comes with a challenge for the city to improve its waste management and to take advantage of environmental laws, which ensure proper collection and disposal of garbage.
Davao is known for its well-disciplined residents and runs a localized version of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
ACTCS is aimed at promoting and encouraging cities in Asean member countries with a tool that will improve the quality of tourism, not only by increasing their marketing competitiveness but also improving the situation of residents by providing them livelihood to alleviate poverty.