August 20 2021 declared holiday in Davao City for ‘Kadayawan Festival’
Davao City, the so-called Durian capital of the Philippines, will be celebrating the 36th annual Kadayawan Festival throughout the month of August.
In connection to this, President Rodrigo Duterte has declared August 20, Friday, as a special non-working holiday in Davao City through Proclamation 1108 (read the full text here). Since August 20 falls on a Friday, most Davaoeños will get to enjoy a three-day weekend.
Davao City’s Kadayawan Festival is undoubtedly one of the most popular festivals nationwide, together with the likes of Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival, Bacolod City’s Masskara Festival, and Cebu City’s Sinulog Festival. In the past, thousands of tourists from around the country and other nations flocked to Davao City for this yearly event.
However, because of the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most activities in connection to the ‘Kadayawan’ festival will be held online for the second consecutive year. As early as May, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has issued an executive order prohibiting all face-to-face non-essential events of all local and national government offices events and activities effective May 26 to August 31, 2021.
Davao City has been at the center of Philippine presidential politics since 2016 since the elder Duterte announced his run for President in late 2015. He served as mayor of Davao City for seven non-consecutive terms: from 1988 to 1998, from 2001 to 2010, and from 2013 until he was elected president in 2016. His daughter succeeded him as mayor and is now widely seen as a frontrunner in the 2022 presidential elections.
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