Mindanaotoday.com | Kuyamis firsts: traditional games, Oro-MisOr collab
By: Jigger Jerusalem
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Now on its 10th year, the celebration of the Misamis Oriental’s Kuyamis Festival 2023 will have two new major events added to the list of activities that would further define the direction of the province’s largest socio-cultural event under administration of Gov. Peter Unabia, said lawyer Jeffrey Saclot, the provincial tourism officer.
The weeklong Kuyamis Festival will be celebrated from Jan. 9 to 13.
This year, the provincial government has introduced the “laro ng lahi,” a set of games consisting of traditional Filipino sports, and the Paglaum MisOr Rise CDO Cup, a collaboration between Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro.
According to the provincial government, this sporting event will be participated in by the local government employees of all cities and municipalities of Misamis Oriental including Cagayan de Oro.
Also, most of the major Kuyamis events will be held at the Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex (MOISC), another first for the festival.
Saclot said the holding of almost all of the Kuyamis activities at the MOISC is significant considering the sports complex is jointly owned by the provincial government, city government, and the Department of Education.
“Gov. Unabia has welcomed the Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro collaboration in the Kuyamis 10th edition, especially in sports where Cagayan de Oro is very involved. The provincial government also wants to make Cagayan de Oro that they are part of the 10th Kuyamis Festival celebration,” Saclot said.
He said the venue for the street dancing competition, another Kuyamis major event, will also be at the MOISC.
“The highlights will be held at the MOISC to signify that we are now back to normal and to show that our street dancing competition is comparable to the major festivals in the Philippines,” Saclot added.
He said this year’s street dancing contest has 15 groups participating.
“That’s [15] a very good number from out of 25 LGUs,” the provincial tourism official said.
For his part, John Venice Ladaga, the provincial administrator, said Unabia has emphasized the theme “Paglaum sa MisOr” as he considered tourism as one of the drivers of the local economy.
“Gov. Unabia has green-lighted initiatives for the province’s tourism projects. In fact, our engineers and architects have started to establish ‘tourism loops’ in Misamis Oriental,” Ladaga said.
Included in the plan is to convert the MOISC and make it a high-standard sports venue.
“We have private investors willing to develop MOISC to develop it and make it world-class facility. The details are in the works and the governor has also formed a core group to focus on the MOISC project,” Ladaga said. (MT)
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