Ambulant vendors were also hopeful that the festivities would give them more income. Along the streets, people selling street foods like kwek-kwek, siomai and other finger foods, used clothes and shoes, among others, are aplenty.
By IRENE V. DAGUDOG & MEDEL V. HERNANI
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Local and foreign tourists as well as ambulant vendors were all praises over the recently concluded 76th Araw ng Dabaw celebration.
For Dave Wilson from Ogdensburg, New York, USA, the event, particularly last Saturday’s Parada Dabawenyo, was “so amazing” having witnessed it for the first time.
Wilson had observed that many foreigners like him have visited the city and found the locals “very accommodating.”
“Davao is one of the best cities in the Philippines. It has less pollution yet it is highly-commercialized,” he told davaotoday.com.
Bhily Jane Tiongson, a student of the University of Immaculate Conception, said that the celebration is getting better each year, having seen it the last three years.
Jason Magnaye of the City Tourism Office said that his office received random reports of “brisk business” from a number of hotels. “Flights are fully booked, too,” he told davaotoday.com in a text message. He said, though, he has no figures yet to support his statement.
It was nearly a month-long celebration with trade fairs and cultural presentations, a citywide beauty pageant, sportsfest, photo contest, a cultural street dancing competition and the civic-military parade.
According to the local government, the 76th Araw ng Dabaw was a birthday celebration befitting the largest city in Mindanao.
But for some Davaoeños, it was not all that.
Ann Stephanie Montero, a resident of Bajada, observed that unlike before, the city streets are not all crowded. She added “dili kaayo sadya (it was not that fun).”
“Siguro tungod sa daghan rason, kwarta gyud ang una (I suppose there are many reasons, and the main reason would be financial capacity),” she told davaotoday.com. She also reckoned that people crowd in places where there are celebrities or where they would not have to shell out money.
Ambulant vendors were also hopeful that the festivities would give them more income. Along the streets, people selling street foods like kwek-kwek, siomai and other finger foods, used clothes and shoes, among others, are aplenty.
Emmy Tarife who helped her sister-in-law sell skewered fried bananas, pancakes and juice said their sales were good in these times compared to ordinary days.
Even those from Davao del Norte arrived here to sell their trade.
The man who identified himself as Nong Johnny said they brought in 60 Kilograms of lanzones and sold it at PHP 50 per Kilo. In just two hours, they already sold 30 Kilos.
He shared that aside from earning, he and his family also have the opportunity to watch the parade.
For Baby Espenosa, a third year high school student who helped her mother sell sandals and slippers, she was not expecting big sales due to economic crisis. “Parents now are not spending their money for non-essential things,” she said.
And as the city wrapped up, Davao City Police Office Director PSSupt. Ronald dela Rosa said, the Araw ng Dabaw celebration was “very peaceful and very orderly.”
“Let us recognize the contributions of all Dabawenyos in making a Davao a peaceful and progressive city,” said Mayor Sara Duterte, in a statement. (Irene V. Dagudog & Medel V. Hernani/davaotoday.com)
