Located at the southern portion of Southcentral Mindanao. It is surrounded by South Cotabato and Sarangani Province with a population of 529,542 (as of 2007 census)
53,606 hectares
12 Rural Barangays
Income
Based on the 2008 Annual Budget (Regular and Supplemental Budgets), General Santos City, a highly urbanized city since 1985, has 1.1 billion pesos budget a select corps of billion-peso cities in the country.
Dialect
Multi-lingual predominantly Sugbuhanon, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, Ilocano, Maranao and Blaan
Dry – March to September
Wet – October to February
Temperature
Minimum – 66 F
Maximum – 85 F
Holidays
September 5 – Charter Day Anniversary/Tuna Festival
February 27 – Kalilangan Festival
What to Wear
Lightweight clothing is recommended. Informal clothing is acceptable when visiting churches or offices. For formal occasions, the traditional barong tagalong is accepted for men. Bars, restaurants and hotels have no dress code but it is considered improper to wear shorts and slipper.
Business and Banking Hours
General Santos City is the commercial and entertainment center of the SOCCSKSARGEN region. It has all the amenities of an urban center. Christians and Muslims living here enjoy the peace and progress of the city. Most of the shops open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. but there are convenient stores which operate until the wee hours. Regional offices of different government agencies are open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday. There are almost 50 commercial banks operating without noon break and with ATMs 24/7. Nightlife is vibrant with bars closing at 3:00 a.m. the following day. Favorite hang-outs are Veranda, Giacomino's, Jollibee National Highway, JMP Complex City Heights, Sarangani Highlands, JMP Complex Osmena Street, San Pedro Barbeque Avenue, Robinson's Place. For fine dining, you can go to Grab-a-Crab, Bigby, and Sydney Hotel. People shop and unwind at Gaisano Mall of Gensan, KCC Mall and Robinson's Place with state of the art cinemas. Vista Land (Camella Homes) and Sta. Lucia's (Colinas Verdes), two of the largest real estate developers in the country, have started their construction of an upscale subdivision projects. More low-cost and medium-end housing projects are sprouting in the outskirts of the city evident of the city's strong market. Several fastfood chains from Manila have their own outlets here. There are numerous internet cafes charging as low as P10 per hour while Wi-Fi ready establishments are available. Telecommunication providers Sun, Globe and Smart are fortifying their presence here while major car dealers like Mitsubishi, Foton, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Isuzu are operating vigorously here with numerous SUVs bearing their brands crisscrossing the busy streets of the city.
Convention Facilities /Hotel Accommodation
General Santos has hotels with complete amenities and convention facilities which can accommodate between 50 to 2,000 people. Prominent of these are the Family Country Hotel and Convention Center, GSC Lagao Gymnasium, NDDU Bro. McKnight Auditorium, KCC Convention Center, East Asia Royale Hotel, ABC Stars Convention Center, Arnevel's, Phela Grande Hotel and Convention Center, NFA Conference Hall and MSU Graduate School Center. Numerous regional and Mindanao-wide conventions were held here as well as national conventions. These establishments can provide audio-visual equipment upon request.
Educational institutions
General Santos City is the cultural and educational center of the region. Notre Dame of Dadiangas University and Mindanao Polytechnic College are producing topnotchers in nursing, and marine engineering board examinations, respectively while the Mindanao State University, is among the top schools in the country in mechanical, electrical and agricultural engineering producing topnotchers in its board exam. NDDU is listed as among the top 40 colleges/universities in the country by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) with autonomous status.
Medical facilities
There are four tertiary hospitals in the city, the General Santos Doctors Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Mindanao Medical Center, and SOCSARGEN County Hospital, capable of providing quality health service to the people of the city.
Water
The General Santos City Water District provides potable water to the people of the city. Mineral water of different brands are available in all grocery stores, drugstores, hotels and restaurants while there are establishments offering purified drinking water.
How to get there
General Santos is accessible by plane or boat from Manila and Cebu. Land transportation to any point of Mindanao is available.
Air
The General Santos Alternative International Airport can accommodate Airbuses and Boeing planes. Daily flights from General Santos City to Cebu and Manila are being served by Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines. The airport is one of the few airports in the country according to the Air Transportation Office that can accommodate wide-bodied planes.
Sea
General Santos is easily accessible by boat from Manila, Cebu , and Iloilo via the Port of Makar, 6 kms. from city proper. A trip from Manila takes 26 hours. Fares vary according to accommodations. Bananas, and other agricultural products are transported to Manila and Cebu. The city is also accessible by boat from Sarangani and Jose Abad Santos towns (Davao del Sur)
Land
Tricycles are common in General Santos. They go around and even outside the city proper. Jeepneys are used in the main city streets. Cars for rent are available upon request in most hotels and at the airport. Buses ply the routes from General Santos to other cities and provinces of Mindanao.
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