KADAYAWAN FESTIVAL 2011

The term "Kadayawan" is derived from the Mandaya word “madayaw”, a warm and friendly greeting used to explain a thing that is valuable, superior, beautiful, good, or profitable.

Notes on Kadayawan 2011

Climate change—and its profound impact—was an issue that was palpable all throughout the celebration of the Kadayawan festival over the weekend in Davao City.  I was in Davao City for a conference, which luckily for me, coincided with the celebration of what is dubbed as the “king of festivals” (what can I say, even the various festivals in the country have to have their own advertising taglines nowadays).  Secretary Lualhati Antonino of the Mindanao Development Authority was asked to speak at the conference about the business outlook for the island and she devoted a considerable amount of time talking about the impact of climate change on a land that is mostly agricultural.  She eventually talked about her pet project to save the environment, which I hope to write about in the near future.  Of all industries, it is agriculture that is probably affected the most by climate change.  Plants suffer the most from prolonged droughts or excessive rainfall.  Harvests are likewise affected when the seasons are delayed or come early. The annual Kadayawan festival is supposed to be a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and the serenity of living.  The festival is supposed to showcase the best of Mindanao—the whole island, after all, has been blessed with fertile land and weather that’s very conducive for agriculture. In case people don’t know, Mindanao has been practically feeding the rest of the country for many years now.  Almost a hundred percent of the high-grade pineapples, papayas and bananas that Filipinos eat come from Mindanao.  A sizable percentage of vegetables as well as rice are also produced in Mindanao. Around this time of the year, the streets of Davao normally start to get flooded with the various bounties of nature, the harvest season reaching its peak sometime September. In previous celebrations everyone would have his or her fill of durian, marang, rambutan, mangosteen as these fruits were practically given away because of oversupply.  For example, my cousins told me that around the same time last year, the sweet pungent smell of durian enveloped the city—everyone had durian at home because it was being sold dirt cheap at P15 a kilo.  And one didn’t have to walk a distance to find a fruit stand as vendors were everywhere.  Last week, durian could only be found at certain parts of the city and they were quite expensive—the going rate was around P85 a kilo.  Some said that this was because the harvest season had been delayed; others claimed that the harvest this year was not as bountiful. ----------------------------------------------------------- This Kadayawan 2011 is somewhat boring. But there are also events that made the event awesome. The one that usually gets a lot of media attention is the parade of floats that majestically roll down the designated route. This year, the floats were as usual, a sight to behold proving once again that Filipino ingenuity is paralleled. There were also various contingents that participated the indak indak sa Kadalanan. Though this year, have less production of fruits like Durian, Mangosteen and others because of the changes in our environment or climate change, there are still lot of investors and visitors who came to our city to experience the fun. But behind those struggles, Dabanwenyos have proven that climate change is not a barrier for the success of the event and productivity of the show.

Reaction/Opinion about the article

When i started reading this article. I was like "Whoa! Way to go Mr.President!". Then  i've gone deeper and deeper, I came to start realizing about the article's content. The President's first year was nothing more like a list of  economic failure. Seriously, I found nothing positive in this article. He is merely watching how his country fails. He can't even take good care of himself, I mean, despite that he is prone to lung cancer, he still smoke heavily.

And so i came to think, How about jobs? How about reducing the gap between rich and poor by rationalizing wages versus profit? How about eliminating the trafficking of our women in Singapore, Japan and other local regions? I think he won't do that because it feeds the poor which would create another headache for him. How about corruption? You promised us Arroyo would pay for her crimes.When post mortem, All other governments are clamping down on Chinese dumping and corruption. What about you? What happened to the ZTE investigation? Now,  everyone is going to say "give him a chance" but people, he hasn't lifted a finger to resolve any of theses issues. The most important being returning our talent back to the Philippines and their families by stimulating the investment market here. What a lame President. He will be remembered as the worst president to grace our lives.

P-Noy's first year in office

''Record your hurts in sand so that waves of forgiveness can wash them away; and carve your blessings on rocks so nothing can wash them away.'' - Dr. Lorina Cabaluna

MANILA, Philippines -- Our sincerest sympathies go to former President Eddie Ramos and his wife Ming on the death of their second daughter, Jo.

We met Jo when she was choreographer of the De La Salle musical group, ''Kundirana'' which then had Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcacid and Dingdong Avanzado as its budding superstars. Jo, as everyone knows, was adept in drums, organ and also sang professionally, aside from being a champion water skier. She remained simple even when her dad became president, sticking to her music, sports and raising her only son Sergio (now 17) with her estranged husband, actor Lloyd Samartino.

Her dad, our ''kumpadre'' FVR, had this message after Jo died, ''Please don't smoke!'' This was Jo's own message to help others from avoiding her own illness, lung cancer.

On another front, we give P-Noy a high passing mark of A- on his first anniversary as president. There is his commitment and dedication to reforms, solid achievements and for inspiring us to be conscious of country, transparency and good governance. It is not all perfect. There are lapses but seriously, we want him to succeed, and he will, with our help!

Now, from US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on the removal of the Philippines from the human traffic list, ''Look at what the Philippines has done in a change of administration. The Philippines probably export more people of their citizenry than nearly any other country in the world. They go all over the world to work in different settings. And until the new administration of President Aquino, we didn't really have the level of commitment we were seeking. We do now and see a sea of change of difference.''

Mabuhay, Philippines!

''Daang matuwid talaga!''

A group of residents and resort owners of Boracay are upset that P-Noy, who flew there from his Caticlan visit (to inaugurate the first private airport project involving the SMC group), referred to their isle in the sun as ''Bora.''

He should, the group huffed, have called it by its full name, ''Boracay,'' and no abbreviation please! The group claims that referring to the tourist isle as ''Bora'' will only add to the confusion of some tourists who will mistake it for ''Bora Bora'' another tourist destination although not in the country.

''Susmaryosep!'' How parochial can they be? Everyone calls their isle ''Bora'' with fondness and beautiful memories of the sea, sand and sun!

Anyway, ''Falcon'' flooded many areas in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, but the good news is, the alertness and cooperation among PAGASA, MMDA, the disaster management center and local governments prevented more deaths than the 11 recorded. P-Noy is pleased with the performance of the PAGASA who issued their bulletins and advisories way ahead of the actual storms and MMDA (congratulations to chairman Francis Tolentino for the confidence given him by Metro Manila mayors who made him ''Flood Czar''), DPWH, and many local officials. Their precautionary measures saved a lot of lives.

The mini-tornado that hit the New Manila area in Quezon City came swiftly shattering windows, hurling shanties, metal sheets, bikes, uprooting trees. Billionaire Danding Cojuangco's home was not spared, nor was the Convent of the Holy Spirit on Poinsettia Street.

As a dear classmate, Sr. Arnold or Marilou Noel, described the ''Buhawi'' that hit them: ''Inside our convent, things and furniture were flying and crashing into pieces! The whirlwind was inside and outside, a shanty fell on top of one of the sisters' roof. Metal sheets were also flying around. Our garden was a mess with uprooted trees and broken branches! Thank God no one was hurt.''

Another friend who lives in the area, Diana Sta. Maria, was in her car with her grandchildren on Balete Street. They saw a big tree smashed in two by the whirlwind and watched with horror as it smashed onto their windshield. Diana believes the kids' guardian angels worked overtime to keep them safe from harm despite the broken glass scattered around them. After typhoon Falcon passed the NCR, calm and sunshine once again brought us back to normalcy. But not those in still-flooded areas, so please contribute your excess clothing, canned goods and other items to relief good centers for those in Mindanao, Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Bicol and other affected areas.

The Associations of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao of Guides Philippines in the New Millennium, Inc. more popularly known as ''GUIDES INC'', held their annual pow-wow in lush Puerto Princesa, Asia's only ''negative-carbon'' city, recently.

The group is headed by Avito Pesayco chairman, Mila Metharam secretary, Virgie Solis auditor, Linda Cajucom former president, adviser and consultant. Cooperating with them were PAGCOR, and PAATGLI another guides association representing Manila (NCR). The convention was ably hosted by the Puerto Princesa Associations and fully supported by Mayor Edward Hagedorn and the local government agencies.

They navigated the underground river up to four kilometers inward and saw the 20-million-year-old fossil of the sea cow! This discovery by Italian scientists is a real boon to the tourism industry of Puerto Princesa and the Philippines! So quick, dear readers, do as P-Noy urged us, type ''ppur15'' on your cellphones and send to 2861! Your 15 votes will cost you only P2.50 per vote but will help the Philippines land a spot in the ''New Seven Wonders of Nature'' awardees.

GUIDES is composed of real professionals in the tour-guiding industry, one-day ''tourist guides'' who are steeped in the history of the nation and its culture, mores and arts. They are the front-line sales people of the tourism industry and should really be welcomed and supported. So more power to them!