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People often ask me why I travel so often around the Philippines and what sorts of activities I do on my visits. It is true that I do make a serious effort to visit different parts of the Philippines. This is a very diverse country and it is hard to get a good sense of the challenges and opportunities the country faces from behind a desk in Manila. The Unites States Government also has projects throughout the Philippines, so it is important for me to see the work we are doing in different areas. I confess that I also enjoy meeting different people, seeing the diverse cultures and even hearing the various languages spoken in each region. I learn best by seeing, although I do need to balance travel with my work load in Manila.

I just returned from a visit to Davao and here’s what I did in my 22 hour trip. I left Manila late Friday afternoon headed straight for Davao. From Davao airport, I went to the head offices of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) team. This team implements most of our development projects, through USAID, in Mindanao. Usually when I visit their offices, we are discussing projects or mapping out next steps. But this time, we dedicated our Friday evening to celebrating the completion of one phase of our work and the beginning of a new phase. Naturally we celebrated Filipino-style, with songs, dances, food, and speeches. And lots of photographs (thanks Sarah and Sonny for wielding the cameras)!

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After that, a few of us went for a very tasty dinner at a Davao restaurant. After dinner, we headed to the offices of the Sutherland Corporation. Sutherland is a company based in New York that runs Business Process Outsourcing facilities around the world. Among their many branches in the Philippines is one in Davao that employs more than 1,000 people. While it might seem odd to visit a company at 9 p.m. in the evening, this is the time of day when their work really picks up since they support American clients and with the 12-hour time difference, it was Friday morning in the United States. I got to tour their facilities, meet their workers and have a very lively roundtable with their managers. By 10:30 p.m., we said goodnight and headed to the hotel to get some sleep.

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Breakfast at the hotel the next morning and then an 8 a.m. session at a reunion meeting of young Mindanao leaders who had all been interns in the Philippine House of Representatives. Over the past five years nearly 200 young Mindanao students have participated in this internship in the Philippine House of Representatives. The United States, through USAID, was a partner in the program, providing financing. I had met many of them during their respective internships, so it was like a mini-reunion for me too. We did speeches and then a fun series of wacky photos. On the way out, the early rising Davao press corps got in on the action with some wacky photos themselves. Of course they also asked me good questions, which I tried to answer.

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After a call-in to a radio show, I went to Ateneo de Davao University. The U.S. Embassy has an “American Corner” at the university that we stock with periodicals, computers and up-to-date information on the United States. While it is located in the university, it is open to everyone, free of charge. They very nicely let me use their space to meet with Mindanao bloggers. Such a great group, and so diverse! After about two minutes, we were all talking as if we’d been friends forever. Food, exercise, computers, music, basketball – we bounced from topic to topic. Other people using the American Corner kept looking over wondering what we were all laughing about. Time flew by and all too soon, it was time to leave. So I walked out through the Ateneo campus enjoying the relaxed scene of students talking in groups. Some were even nice enough to call out or wave to me.

By noon I was at the Philippine Military Headquarters of EASTMINCOM to pay my respects to the local military leadership. I have known the Commanding General in his previous posts, so it was nice to see him in another important role and to hear his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities he faces. My visit coincided with a conference EASTMINCOM was hosting so I got to greet other area police and military commanders when they took a break from their conference.

After that, we grabbed some lunch to eat in the car while we headed to the airport for our flight to return to Manila. This was my fourth trip to Davao and every time I learn something new, see something different and meet new faces. And I always enjoy every moment.