By Ronnel Domingo
Inquirer

DAVAO CITY, Philippines–Marco Polo Hotels Management Ltd. is expanding its facilities here with a convention center and additional rooms as Mindanao’s largest city attracts the growing interest of convention organizers and business executives on leisure travel.

Stanley Lau, general manager of Marco Polo Davao, said in an interview the company had not yet set a definite amount to invest but that this was “easily more than P300 million.”

“We are still in talks with building designers, but the owners — the Dominguez family through Halifax Capital Resources Inc. — have given instructions toward expansion as soon as possible,” Lau said. “Money is not an issue.”

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By Rosa Villanueva
Inquirer

SIX months after graduating from college, something totally unexpected happened: I burned out. I was not only having problems with my boss, I was also unhappy working with preschoolers. It got so bad that my boss not only refused to sign my regularization papers, she also suggested that I take a week off.

An entire week? What was I supposed to do? I had never had a week off since I entered college! I was a shiftee who, in spite of having 30 or more units from her old course uncredited to her second course, managed to graduate on time. This meant that when I wasn’t in a class or doing something for a class, I was enrolling in one. This, coupled with parents who’d rather work than go on vacation, meant I had no idea what to do with a week off from work.

My mom then suggested an out-of-town trip through the Super Ferry. At the time, my family had just started selling Super Ferry tickets, but no one had actually experienced riding one. She thought it would be nice if someone from our family could actually verify how the “Super Ferry Experience” was like. Since I had seven days off, I picked the farthest destination: Davao.

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