Farms, jobs, safe spaces among issues raised by Davao’s poor in the election

DAVAO TODAY, Philippines – With days away before the May 12 elections, as local candidates round up their campaigns with grand speeches, most people of Davao City hold on to whatever hope that their oft-repeated promises will follow through.

Davao City has the lowest poverty incidence in region 11, recorded at 8.8% based on the 2023 Philippine Statistical Authority census. But the city has the highest number of poor families, approximately 50,000, which comprises 30% of the region’s total poor families, which accounts for 240,000 people. This disparity suggests that while the proportion of poor families is relatively low, the number remains significant due to the city’s large population of 1.8 million.

The poor in the city comprise vendors, small farmers, jeepney drivers, and daily wage earners. Some of those interviewed by Davao Today express little optimism for the local candidates.

“Unta magpadayon na wala’y demolisyon sa amoa. Nahunong ning pagdemolish pagsugod gyud sa eleksyon (I hope they will stop demolishing our place. They stopped driving us away since the election period started),” said Rachel Jamio, 49, an ambulant vendor in Agdao Public Market who has spent five years selling banana cue and sliced vegetables.

Jamio is chair of the Agdao Laray Muslim-Christian Vendors Association, with 75 members who are in constant threat from the city government’s demolition team, which drives them away from selling food along the sidewalk. 

Through their letters of petition and request, the City Council agreed that they can set up their stalls along Solman Street and Monteverde Street.

Ambulant food vendors are called laray (street row) and opt to sell on the street as they could not afford the new rental fees at the newly renovated Agdao Public Market.

 Jamio said she earns a thousand pesos a day, which is enough to pay the arawan or daily loan for her capital, leaving enough cash to buy a kilo of rice and food for her family of seven.

Jamio urged candidates for the city council to help them by creating an ordinance or local law that designates safe zones for ambulant vendors to sell their goods so they can have income to help their families.

Small farmers

Meanwhile, small farmers in far-flung barangays such as in Lamanan, Calinan District find little support from the city while they could hardly earn income from their harvests.

“Hinaut ang mga kandidato naay panlantaw sa mga mag-uuma. Lisud kaayo ang dalan kay mag pakyaw pa mig motor para dalhon ang among abot (I hope that candidates will have a vision for farmers.  The roads to our farms are difficult, and we need to rent a motorcycle to collect our harvest),” said Enalyn Bazarte, a 45-year-old farmer who is part of the Kababayen-an Para sa Kaangayan, Kalambuan ug Kalinaw (Women for Equality, Progress, and Peace).

Bazarte calls on candidates to push for agricultural support to small farmers in the city, such as paving farm-to-market roads, providing farming equipment and planting materials, creating markets, and subsidizing transport costs.

She also urged candidates to look at the pricing system dictated by buyers, where vegetables such as cucumbers are bought at ₱5 while these are sold in the city proper at ₱20. 

Jeepney drivers

Jeepney drivers, too, are speaking out as they face uncertainty over the city’s ongoing transport modernization. 

Uldarico Embudo, 57, a jeepney driver for over 25 years, says traffic congestion has worsened with the surge of private vehicles and with minimal improvement in road structures.

His route from Matina Aplaya to Agdao, which used to be a one-and-a-half-hour trip, now takes more than two hours, which cuts his earnings due to few passengers and high fuel costs.

“Mosamot ang traffic kung naa nay mga tag-as na bus sa kalsada. Ok ra nang bus system og wala’y maligsan (Traffic will get heavier when these buses will run on the main roads. The bus system is fine if no one will be affected). ” he said. 

Driver operators like him have resorted to “chop-chop” or selling the spare parts to avoid more losses. 

Around 7,000 jeepney drivers and operators are affected by the city government’s modernization plan, where their units will be replaced with buses. Many drivers expressed fear of losing their livelihood with no assurance of getting integrated into the bus system or being provided with job opportunities.

(for details on the city’s traffic and transportation problems, READ:  https://davaotoday.com/economy/davaos-traffic-commuting-woes-need-solutions-from-candidates/)

Urban waste

Living in urban poor communities in Davao City poses risks, such as in Brgy. Duterte along the city’s coastal road.

One of the residents, Rachel, is worried about the waste disposal and lack of septic tanks in most of the houses in the area. She said that garbage has accumulated in large volumes during high tides as a wall was constructed to pave the way for the construction of the Davao City Coastal Road.

“Hadlok kayo kay mangaligo ang mga bata sa halong basura ug hugaw sa tao. Posible gyud makakuha og sakit ang mga bata (It’s scary that children are swimming in the sea and they might get sick because of the trash),” she lamented.

Leadership needed

Bayan Muna Partylist, which is campaigning for good governance, observed that the past leadership of Mayor Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte isn’t felt by the people.

“Daghan kaayo issue sa Davao apan dli makita si Mayor Baste. Asa siya panahon sa demolition sa San Roque, Bangkal? Sa pagpangayo og ispasyo sa mga vendors sa Soliman?  (There are so many issues in Davao, yet we don’t see Mayor Baste at all. Where is he when settlers in San Roque, Bangkal, were demolished or when vendors in Soliman ask for space?),“ asks Abdul Sissay, Davao’s regional coordinator of Bayan Muna. 

He said, contrary to how Duterte supporters push the city’s tagline that “Life is Here,” Davao’s constituents hardly feel the comfort of living in the city.

A story from Mindanews revealed that in Davao City’s approved 2025 budget, the city will spend two times more for its peace and security at 2 billion pesos compared to their allocation for the people’s social welfare (₱1.1 billion) and medical services (₱869.7 million). https://mindanews.com/special-reports/2025/05/in-insurgency-free-davao-city-biggest-chunk-of-the-budget-is-still-for-peace-and-order/

Government data showed that a family of five people in Davao City needed a monthly income of ₱13,140 to meet food and other needs. The city’s minimum daily wage is ₱510.

The local election finds the Duterte family facing another dynasty, the Nograles, who intend their 36-year rule in the city.

As their campaign jingles fill the air and posters line up the streets, the city’s poor have one message: Enough with the promises. It’s time for real service. (davaotoday.com)