The city government has set aside a PHP65 million budget for this year’s 38th Kadayawan festival here, an official said Tuesday.

“An (additional) amount of some PHP12 million will also come from sponsorship – the trust fund of Kadayawan,” Jenifer Romero, officer-in-charge of the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO), said in a press briefing.

Romero said the opening of the Kadayawan festival will be on Aug. 10, in time for the opening of the iconic Kadayawan Tribal Village.

“Part of the budget every year is the rehabilitation of the tribal villages. We are still checking on the budget as to how much will be spent for the village,” Romero said, adding that the festival is the city’s way of honoring its 11 tribes.

All the previous event activities have been retained except for the Habi Kadayawan, which was introduced in 2019 but put aside for the past three Kadayawan celebrations.

“The events that are still existing, and we just wanted to improve it more and elevate the events,” Romero said, adding that one of the highlights of the festival, the morning Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan, will be moved in the afternoon.

She assured that all the events will be safe and secured as the security cluster is preparing its plan for the month-long festivity. (PNA)