Monday, July 16, 2007 No hiyas, no horse fight By Ben O. Tesiorna
TWO highlights in the Kadayawan celebration are not included in this year's events: the Hiyas ng Kadayawan and the tribal horse fight.
City Administrator Wendel Avisado said the reason for the non-holding of Hiyas ng Kadayawan is because there is nobody who could handle the event as grandiose as the previous Hiyas.
He said they wanted Dabawenyo fashion designer Boy Guino-o to handle the Hiyas but the designer is said to be in Europe for a fashion tour and will be back in Davao after the Kadayawan.
Avisado said another group is willing to handle the Hiyas but the group is from Cebu and are not Dabawenyos thus they decided not to take their offer.
On the horse-fighting, which has been included in every Kadayawan celebration for the past 20 years, Avisado said they made the decision not to hold it again this year in deference to the Animal Welfare Act.
Avisado still hopes the horse fight event can be revived, but only after they can iron out the kinks with regards to what appears to be a clash between tradition and law.
Avisado said one way is to hold the horse fight in identified lumad areas like the Paquibato and Marilog.
The 22nd Kadayawan will be formally opened on August 8 and will run until the 19th.
Avisado said this year's Kadayawan will be unique from the past Kadayawans since this year's celebration will focus the celebration on Davao's bounty and indigenous peoples.
He said each of the known indigenous tribes as well as the Muslim tribes will be allotted one full day to showcase their culture and traditions to the public.
Avisado said the City Government will also be documenting this activity and will distribute the documentation to the learning institutions for the students to be acquainted with the true cultures and traditions of the different tribes here in Davao City.
Other activities in line are the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan, Floral Float parade, Fluvial Parade in the Davao River, Agro-Trade Fair and many more.
The Kaan Dawet that was usually held at the city streets will now be held in malls.
Avisado said this is to avoid traffic jams considering that the Bankerohan bridge is still under construction.
It was learned that the city has only allocated P700,000 as counterpart for this year's celebration.
The rest of the more than P5 million budget is shouldered by the private sector particularly the major sponsors like Smart and Globe Telecommunications and the San Miguel Corporation.
