WITH simplicity, the 81st Araw ng Dabaw opened last March 1, at Rizal Park with the same theme as last year, "Stand Tall, United, Resilient", commencing the festivities for the founding anniversary of the city.
It was an afternoon of music and dance performances from local talents of Davao.
The opening ceremonies were graced by the Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Romulo Valles, Davao City Hall Office heads, diplomats, and deputy mayors.
In her speech, Duterte-Carpio said that the journey to Davao’s 81st year is not easy. With each decade bringing different kinds of challenges but still Dabawenyos remained united.
"Our resilience and solidarity in the midst of hardships are testaments of our courage and unity as a people, regardless of our different religions, ideologies and ethnicity," she said.
Also that day, the 28 Mutya ng Dabaw semi-finalists were introduced. From 28, only 15 will advance to the coronation night on March 15, 2017 at the Rizal Memorial College FilOil Flying V Event Center.
Duterte-Carpio reiterated what she said to the athletes of the Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) to the contenders of the Mutya ng Dabaw that winning is as important as the knowledge gained from the experience.
As usual, the place was full of men in uniform to guard the area but according to Mayor Sara, her job is becoming less difficult because Dabawenyos have stepped up to secure the city by being good citizens.
“I am only strong as a mayor because of your enthusiasm and support to my office and I thank you for that,” she added.
What Mayor Sara said is true: that every decade poses different challenges for the city, with the fast growing economy and booming Davao City, the situation becomes more complicated and the challenge to Dabawenyos climbs a notch every time.
There is so much to watch out for this March as the city celebrates its 81st founding anniversary, with exciting events lined up almost every day, not counting the Alveo Iron Man 70.3 on the 25th.