A one-month gun ban will be in place during the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City this August, after the Philippine National Police acted favorably on the request of the city government.

 

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome accommodated the request of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to implement the ban, radio dzBB's Davao affiliate Erning Arenas reported.

 

Duterte-Carpio argued the gun ban would prevent troublemakers from disrupting the peaceful month-long celebration of Kadayawan from August 1 to 31.

 

She had pushed for the suspension of the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence (PTCFOR) in the city during the festival.

 

Exempted from the ban are police personnel and soldiers, provided they are on duty and in uniform.

 

The Kadayawan Festival seeks to recall the convergence of Davao's ethnic tribes who lived at the foot of Mount Apo to give thanks for a bountiful harvest.

 

Such a ritual is a thanksgiving to the gods particularly to the “Manama” (the Supreme Being), according to the Kadayawan Festival website.

 

Tribal festivals featuring the lumad and Muslim tribes of Davao City were started by Mayor Elias Lopez, a Bagobo, in the 1970s.

 

In 1986, a program called "Unlad Proyekto Davao" was initiated by the government to unite Davao residents after the martial law era.

 

But it was then city mayor and now vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte who named the festival as "Kadayawan sa Dabaw" in 1988 to highlight Davao’s flowers, fruits and produce, and culture. –KG, GMA News