As Davao City celebrates the Kadayawan Festival, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hailed the city as among the country’s “shining beacons of progress” and recognized its people for uniting against hardships the country has faced.
The President stressed that the occasion is a reminder of how festive gatherings bring Filipinos “closer together” to celebrate a shared culture and rootedness as he views the festival as a commemoration of Davao City’s “abundance” and an opportunity to show “the best of what their hometown has to offer.”
“l could not help but admire the story that Davao City has written through the years, in which it has emerged as among the country’s shining beacons of progress,” Marcos said.
“It is with no doubt that Davaoeños have embodied solidarity and contributed wholeheartedly in weaving their own tale of nation-building to bring their beloved city to where it is today,” he added.
The Davao City government has received at least 118 awards and citations recognizing the efforts of the local government in various facets of governance and service during the leadership of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s mayoral term alone.
The National Competitiveness Council and the Department of Trade and Industry named Davao City the Fourth Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index — the highest ranking of any city outside of the National Capital Region.
Davao City remained in the Top 5 list since 2015 and ranked third in terms of Infrastructure, Government Efficiency, and Economic Dynamism, and Sixth in terms of Resiliency.
Davao City is the 8th richest city in the country in 2020 with total assets amounting to P23 billion, according to the 2020 Annual Financial Report released by the Commission on Audit in December last year.
It has been recognized as among the top-performing local government units by the Bureau of Local Government Finance of the Department of Finance yearly since 2017 for beefing up its tax collection efforts.
Meantime, the President urged Dabawenyos to celebrate the festival “with gratitude for the bountiful harvest that has become a foundation of Davao’s steadfast development.”
“May you all be blessed with continued success and prosperity as we unite towards achieving a better and brighter tomorrow,” said Marcos.
The Kadayawan Festival is a thanksgiving festival and a tribute to Davao’s indigenous peoples. It is celebrated on the third week of August.
Kadayawan is a native expression in the Dabawnon tongue, which means “anything excellent that brings great fortune” from “dayaw” (good), describing a thing that is valuable and superior.
The Festival activities will showcase “Bantawan”, which is a cultural show by Davao City’s 11 tribes and will feature the Dula Kadayawan or tribal games, Hiyas sa Kadayawan, Indak Indak sa Kadayawan, Pamulak sa Kadayawan, among others.