General Santos

Introduction

The City of General Santos (known as Dadiangás, and abbreviated G.S.C. or GenSan) is the southernmost port city of the Philippines. Being a highly urbanized first class city, GenSan is one of the most populous urban centers in the country with a population of 538,086 as per census data of 2010.

Neighbourhoods

The city is bounded by municipalities of Sarangani Province namely Alabel in the east of the city, and Maasim in the south. The city is likewise bounded by South Cotabato municipality of Polomolok and Sarangani Province municipality of Malungon in the north, and the municipality of T'boli in the west of the city.

Sights and Activities

• Klaja Eco Park

Events and Festivals

Kalilangan Festival

General Santos City celebrates the Kalilangan every February. "Kalilangan" means festival, festivity or jubilation. It is a social gathering marked by exchanging of amenities among traditional leaders, elders, allies and subordinates in varying tones. In a broader perspective, Kalilangan projects a positive and dynamic meaning for it engulfs the artistic, humane and altruistic aspects of social interaction that takes place in any occasion or celebration. Kalilangan is a noble tradition. It is a complete work of art nourished and nurtured by rich cultural heritage that has withstand the test of time from generation to generation. It is also a pageantry of unique and colorful ethnic rites, rituals and traditions like marriage celebrations, religious ceremonies, anniversaries, funerals, enthronement of royal dignitaries, thanksgiving and other forms of social, political and economic activities.

Tuna Festival

The Tuna Festival is not just an economic activity, but a continuous season of merriment, gaiety and merrymaking accentuated by sharing of gifts, traditional sports competition, dancing, singing and instrumental rendition and other forms of exhibition games, entertainment and amusement. General Santos City is known as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. Thanksgiving and festivities are being celebrated annually through its "Tuna Festival". Focusing on its main industry. Tuna Float is an event to taste sumptuous tuna treats during the Tuna Culinary Contest.

Weather

General Santos has a humid tropical climate with days mostly around 30-32 °C and nights around 23-25 °C. Precipitation is around 1,070 mm a year, and fairly evenly distributed throughout the year although March and April are somewhat drier and June is the wettest month.

Getting There

By Plane

General Santos International Airport (GES) has flights to/from Iloilo, Cebu and Manila.

Eat

The Tuna City pampers its guests with wide array of tuna dishes and other fish delights. A wide range of dining establishments have popped up elsewhere in the city offering local and continental cuisines to fill your cravings and appetites with satisfaction. Fresh-from-the-catch seafood and right-from-the-harvest agricultural produce are perfectly matched to make a savoury and sumptuous array of dishes in its various food outlets and restaurants.

Sleep

View our map of accommodation in General Santos

Keep Connected

Internet

There are a number of internet service providers nationwide: PLDT-Smart Communications, Globe Telecoms, BayanTel and Sun Cellular and each have their signal strengths in various locations. Internet access areas of broadband speeds are plentiful in city malls, much less so outside the cities, but are growing at a rapid pace. Internet surfing rates depend primarily on where you surf and the medium used (e.g. WiFi or wired). Internet services offered by hotels and shopping malls are expensive and can go up to ₱200/hour (approximately US$5) but neighbourhood cafes can be as cheap as ₱15/hour (approximately US$0.35).

Public place WiFi services in the Philippines is provided by Airborneaccess.net and WiZ is likely to cost ₱100 (approximately US$2) for up to an hour. But if you want cheaper, there is a internet cafe chain in SM malls called, "Netopia", that has a landline internet connection for around 20P an hour (about 0.46 US). Coffee shops as well as malls usually carry WiFi service some are free to use. Certain areas may also carry free WiFi. The SM chain of malls offer free wifi, so you can sit virtually anywhere in the mall and access free wireless.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company commonly known as PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider. It is also the largest company in the country. There are three major companies operating GSM 900/1800 networks: Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular. Your home provider at home should have agreements with one of these providers so check with them before leaving home. Roaming may be quite expensive just as elsewhere however, pre-paid SIM cards of these networks are easy to acquire and cost as little as ₱30 and provide a cheaper alternative.
If you don't have a phone to begin with, a complete pre-paid kit with phone and SIM can be purchased for as little as ₱1,500.The usual cost of an international long-distance call to the United States, Europe or other major countries is $0.40 per minute. Local calls range from ₱ 6.50 per minute for prepaid calls.

Due to the wide use of mobile phones, pay phones are increasingly becoming obsolete. Some malls and public places still do have them and they usually come in either the coin or card operated variety. Globe and PLDT are the usual operators. Phone cards are usually sold by shops which sell cellphone pre-paid loads and cards. Note that phone cards of one company can not be used with the other company's card operated phones.

Post

The Philippine Postal Corporation, or PhilPost, is the provides the postal service throughout the Philippines. PhilPost is pretty reliable, but one can hardly call it fast services. It is fine for sending postcards and letters though, both domestically as well as internationally. Prices for sending postcards or letters within the country start at around P7, while most international post costs at least P20. For sending parcels to and from the Philippines it might be wise to use companies like FedEx or UPS. The opening hours of post offices in the Philippines differ from one place to another. Usually, post offices are open from 8:00am to 12 noon and from 1:00pm to 5:00pm on weekdays. And for those that operate on Saturdays, the business hours are from 8:00am to 1:00pm.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website