DAVAO City will still be celebrating the 84th Araw ng Dabaw but it will be different due to the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.
"Duna na tay (We already have) plan [wherein] all our activities will be online," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She said this will be similar to the Kadayawan Festival last year when some events were conducted online.
"Mag-celebrate gihapon ta," Duterte-Carpio said.
In 2020, the City Government canceled several major events of the 83rd Araw ng Davao amid the global outbreak of the Covid-19.
Among the affected major events are Pasiugdang Pagsaulog, Reyna Dabawenya, Ginoong Davao, Sayaw Pinoy, Kalingawan sa Sta. Ana, Hudyaka, Mutya ng Dabaw, Pasidungog, Araw ng Empleyado, Kanta Dabawenyo, Parada Dabawenyo, and Datu Bago Awards.
Duterte-Carpio did not give further details on what to expect in this year's Araw celebration.
Meanwhile, this year's Araw falls exactly a year since the entire country, especially in the region, recorded its first Covid-19 case. In Davao City, the first local transmission was recorded late March 2020.
Currently, the city continues to record a surge of Covid-19 cases. As of January 7, the city has a total of 9,107 cases, wherein a total of 7,699 have recovered, 983 are active cases, and 416 have succumbed from the virus.
Duterte-Carpio said the public should manage their expectation because the pandemic could still last until 2022.
"It's going to be for two years. Basin makakita ta og semblance of normalcy ani mga next year pa siguro (We might have a semblance of normalcy probably) next year, or maybe late next year," she said.
The City Government recently issued Executive Order (EO) 70, extending EO 57-A, which regulates all forms of mass gathering until June 30, 2021.
Section 20 of EO states that "parade, motorcades, rallies and other gatherings in public places are absolutely prohibited". These include significant city celebrations, as these are "super spreaders" in the Covid-19 transmission.