US Ambassador Lee Lipton makes first official visit to Davao City

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton visited Davao City on Thursday, October 22, 2026, in what was his first official trip to the city, according to SunStar, citing the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Davao. The visit aimed to underscore the long history of ties and partnership between the United States and Davao City.

A key stop was the 100-year-old Davao City Hall, which was built during the American colonial period. Its architect, Juan M. Arellano, also designed the US Embassy chancery in Manila. There, Lipton paid a courtesy call on Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte.

Senators Robin Padilla and Christopher Lawrence Go joined the meeting, along with City Councilor Rachel Zozobrado, who chairs the City Council Committee on International Relations, and Councilor Myrna Dalodo Ortiz, who chairs the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Industry.

Zozobrado said the discussions looked at ways to expand bilateral cooperation, building on existing partnerships in economic development, agribusiness trade, educational and cultural exchange, and local security capacity-building.

Lipton praised the welcome he received in a social media post, describing Dabawenyo hospitality as "REMARKABLE" and saying he saw "nothing but POTENTIAL for what we can achieve together."

Before going to City Hall, the ambassador had an executive luncheon with city officials at a restaurant housed in a historic pre-war home. He later held a roundtable discussion with members of the American Chamber of Commerce at Aeon Towers.

Lipton's trip follows earlier visits this year by other US Embassy officials. Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Robert Ewing met local officials, cultural institutions and business leaders in February, while Mark Saavedra, head of the Embassy's Political Affairs Unit, visited during the Kadayawan Festival in August.

Economic links between Davao and the United States date to the early 1900s, when former American soldiers settled in the area and set up abaca plantations. Abaca was prized for marine cordage used by the growing American naval and merchant fleets, and the plantation owners also brought in Japanese migrant workers who formed a prosperous community before the war. Today, US investment is most visible in the city's IT-BPM industry, where most of Davao's 85,000 IT workers serve US-based clients, according to the report.