Kadayawan Festival in The Philippines

Filipinos in colorful costumes join the annual Kadayawan Festival in Davao City in the southern Philippines. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. The festival honors Davao’s artistic, cultural and historical heritage, its past personified by the ancestral “lumads,” its people as they celebrate on the streets, and its floral industry as its representatives parade in full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales and Karlos Manlupig)

Tausug lass wins ‘Hiyas sa Kadayawan’ in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Faizal Ampilani, representing the Tausug tribe, won this year’s search for the “Hiyas sa Kadayawan” in Davao City in the southern Philippines.

Ampilani on Wednesday topped the search where ten tribal women, representing ten ethnic tribes of Davao City, competed with their wits, knowledge and talent in the quest for this year’s festival symbol.

The ten tribes of Davao include the Sama, Maranao, Ubo-Manubo, Crisalyn Bangcas, Klata, Ata, Maguindanao, Matigsalog, Kalagan, Tagabawa and Tausug tribes.

As “Hiyas sa Kadayawan”, Ampilani hopes she can help provide musical instruments to the Tausug community in Davao City so that she will be able to help sustain and preserve her tribe’s rich culture.

Ampilani won P50,000 cash prize and an additional P30,000 for her chosen community development project.

Placing second and third are Mary Le-Lainie Coronel of the Tagabawa tribe, who won P40,000, and Amera Amal Ameril of the Maranaw tribe, who won P30,000. The women were bestowed the titles “Hiyas sa Kauswagan” and “Hiyas sa Tingusbawan”, respectively. They were also given P30,000 for their chosen community development projects.

Senator Pia Cayetano, the chairwoman of the board of judges, announced in the program that she will be adding P50,000 more to the community development project of this year’s “Hiyas sa Kadayawan”.

The “Hiyas sa Kadayawan”, one of the main highlights of the Kadayawan Festival, is an annual search for the festival symbol, an indigenous woman who is knowledgeable of her own culture and wisdom. (Ian Garcia)

Davao City Pays Tribute To Local Artists

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Aug) – Davao City in the southern Philippines will pay tribute Tuesday to world-class local artists in the “Performing Dabaw: Homage to Home-Grown Artists,” one of the main events of this year’s celebration of the 22nd Kadayawan sa Dabaw.

“Performing Dabaw” will showcase performances from the Locsin Dance Workshop, which is celebrating its 70th year, the oldest dance school in the country; and Kaliwat Theatre Collective, also celebrating its 20th year and is one of the leading theatre groups in the Philippines and this year’s recipient of Patnubay sa Sining Award by the government of Manila; and solo performer Juliet Bahalla, the grand champion of the 2005 NAMCYA Solo Voice Classical Competition.

The outstanding individual artists will also be awarded during the event.

The “Performing Dabaw: Homage to Home-Grown Artists,” which will start at 7 p.m. at the CAP Auditorium here, is presented by the Department of Tourism XI and WOW! Mindanao Kadayawan sa Dabaw Hamiling Dalit. (Ian Garcia)

Davao City Bans Bikini Contests

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte bans all bikini contests.

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Jun) – The mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines has banned all bikini contests after moralists insist that parading women in sexy outfits only exploit them.

"I do not want to see women in bikinis being fantasized by men, especially here in Davao City," Duterte said.

The mayor said he is supporting appeals by women organizations and politicians to prohibit bikini contests in Davao. “Parading women clad in panties and swimsuit is a form of exploitation of women,” he said.

The mayor said bikini contest is only ideal in the United States and other western countries, but not in the Philippines where women are respected and recognized.

But Davao City is hosting in August the famed Kadayawan Festival which is marked with street dancing and beauty pageant called Hiyas, where contestants parade in bikinis and swimwear.

Duterte said the bikini contest will not be included in the Hiyas pageant.(Romy Bwaga)