Schlosser stressed that since the vaccination against Covid-19 is not mandated by the national or city government, the local government unit of Davao City cannot hamper Dabawenyos from participating in the said festival.
“At the moment, there is no mandate for mandatory vaccination. However, we encourage the public because the vaccine is one of the ways to prevent us from having the severity of the disease,” Schlosser said in a radio interview on April 22.
“Wala gyod ta executive order na naga-implement og mandatory vaccination so dili nato na siya pwede i-require sa mga tao (We do not have an executive order requiring mandatory vaccination so we cannot push the people to do it),” she added.
The implementation of Executive Order 11, “An order lifting all Covid-19 restrictions in Davao City,” except for the wearing of face masks, is also applicable in the celebration of Kadayawan, said Schlosser.
She added that opening the Kadayawan Festival to in-person celebrations will help with the LGU’s goal of economic recovery.
“This is also good for our economy kasi naa naman gud ta sa point na atoang goal, economic recovery (We are at a point where our goal is economic recovery). We maintain the health (safety) but at the same time we have to make sure na naa ta (that we have) economic recovery,” Schlosser said.
This comes after City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson said on April 20 that they are eyeing an in-person celebration of Kadayawan Festival since most Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted.
The exciting festivities of the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City is celebrated every August annually but for the past years in 2021 and 2020, the Kadayawan festivities settled for a virtual celebration due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kadayawan Festival is mostly known for its street dance Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan and vibrant floral floats Pamulak sa Kadayawan.
