Need a Ride along the Gulf? Water Taxi is here!

DAVAO WATER TAXI is another first in the Philippines! Mobility between mainland Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal will be faster and more convenient to tourists and locals alike. 

Just like any other land-based taxis, the water taxi also has a meter. It can carry up to 14 persons including the boat captain. Fare is Php700 for four passengers for the first 5 kilometers and additional Php50 per passenger for the next succeeding kilometer. It is very safe as all units are complete with safety equipment such as life vests availability of navigation facilities in the designated areas.

The water taxis has the capacity of up to 12 passengers and can generally be booked for boat transfers. 

Private chartering and island group tours can also be arranged in advance. . It is also accredited by the Maritime Industry Authority or MARINA.

The water taxis are based at Sta. Ana Wharf in Davao City with business hours from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM and can also be chartered for boat transfers and island group tours. 

Davao Express Water Taxis are available to and from any part of Davao Region and IGACOS. It can pick up and drop off at any public and private coastal attractions, restaurants, resorts and wharves. 

Company manager Jheannie Lava Callao, said the water taxis would sail off from Sta. Ana Wharf, Sasa Wharf, Lanang and Water Insular Hotel to any point in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos).
“Hopefully, we will be operational next week,” Callao said.
If the passenger load is good, we will be adding three more units, said Callao of the taxis that run on maximum speedof 22 miles per hour. The company has invested P10 million into the venture, the first of its kind in the country and considered as “pioneering investment” by the Board of Investments.

Source: Google "Water Taxi in Davao"

Elegant and Sophisticated Black Taxi in Davao

The Mabuhay Group recently launched its fleet of black taxicabs. More than just a new cab color, the black taxi will debut topnotch technology for public transport in Davao City.

The transport innovation was the idea of Pierre Ryan Tan, assistant manager of Mabuhay Taxi, who thought of addressing the passengers' common complaints against taxi drivers who do not give exact change. 

The taxis will accept payments from Bancnet and Megalink ATM and debit cards. 

The cabs are also safer for passengers because they have a Global Positioning System tracking device that will automatically give information on the current location of the vehicles, according to Tan.

"It also has an emergency button. It has a security feature that will automatically inform us of the driver's location, engine on, engine off," added Tan.

Leoloy Nahi-al said that the innovation would not only benefit the riding public but the drivers of the black taxis like him, as well. 

"I think our income will also increase...commuters won't have second thoughts riding a taxi because they can use their ATM in case they don't have cash," Nahi-al said in Filipino. - with Aliana Gimena

 Source: Google " Black taxi"

People of the Current (Tausug) tribe in the Philippines

The Tausūg or Suluk people are an ethnic group of the Philippines and Malaysia. The term Tausūg was derived from two words tao and sūg (orsuluk) meaning "people of the current", referring to their homelands in the Sulu Archipelago. Sūg and suluk both mean the same thing, with the former being the phonetic evolution in Sulu of the latter (the L being dropped and thus the two short U's merging into one long U). 

The Tausūg people in Sabah refer to themselves as Tausūg but refers to their race as Suluk as documented in official documents such as birth certificates in Sabah,Malaysia. The Tausūg are part of the wider political identity of Muslims of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan known as the Moro ethnic group, who constitute the third largest ethnic group of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.

They originally had an independent state known as the Sulu Sultanate, which once exercised sovereignty over the present day provinces of Basilan, Palawan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and the eastern part of the Malaysian state of Sabah (formerly North        Borneo).

Tausūgs are experienced sailors and are known for their colorful boats or vintas. They are also superb warriors and craftsmen. They are known for the Pangalay dance (also known as Daling-Daling in Sabah), in which female dancers wear artificial elongated fingernails made from brass or silver known as janggay, and perform motions based on the Vidhyadhari (Bahasa Sūg: Bidadali) of pre-Islamic Buddhist legend.

Prior to modern times, the Tausūg people were under the Sultanate of Sulu. The system is a patrilineal system, consisting of the title of Sultan as the sole sovereign of the Sultanate (in Tausūg language: Lupah Sug, literally: "Land of the Current"), followed by various Maharajah and Rajah-titled subdivisional princes. Further down the line are the numerous Panglima or local chiefs, similar in function to the Philippine political post of the Baranggay Kapitan in the Baranggay system.

Of significance are the Sarip (Shariff) and their wives, Sharifah, who are descendents of Arabic royalty. They are respected as religious leaders, though some may take up administrative posts.

Source: Google "Tausug"

B'laan Tribe in the Philippines

The Blaan are one of the indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao in The Philippines. Their name could have derived from "bla" meaning "opponent" and the suffix "an" meaning "people". Other terms used to refer to this group are Blaan, Bira-an, Baraan, Vilanes, and Bilanes.

The Blaan, are neighbors of the T'boli, and live in Lake Sebu and T'boli municipalities of South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos City, the southeastern part of Davao and around Buluan Lake in North Cotabato. They are famous for their brassworks, beadwork and t'nalak weave. The people of these tribes wear colorful embroidered native costumes and beadwork accessories. The women of these tribes, particularly, wear heavy brass belts with brass 'tassels' ending in tiny brass bells that herald their approach even when they are a long way off.

Some Blaan natives were displaced when General Santos City was founded in 1939. Others settled in the city.

Their language is said to be the source of the name for Koronadal City, from two Blaan words – koron or kolon meaning cogon grass andnadal or datal meaning plain, which aptly described the place to the natives. On the other hand, Marbel, which is another name for the poblacion, is a Blaan term Malb-el which means "murky waters" referring to a river, now called Marbel River.

The tribe practices indigenous rituals while adapting to the way of life of modern Filipinos.