Higalaay Festival 2025
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)—Cagayan de Oro has unveiled the theme and lineup for the Higalaay Festival 2025, featuring 58 activities in celebration of the city’s 75th Charter Anniversary under the theme, “Proud of Our Roots, Bold in Our Dreams.”
“For our activities, we have a total of 58 activities for this year’s Higalaay Festival, 13 of which are core events. And then we have 10 major events, nine minor events, 18 parallel events, and eight special events. Now, for the core events, these are events nga mainly organized by the city government and some from private organizations, nga nag-run na sa atong Higalaay Festival for the past 5 to 10 years,” said Acting Tourism Officer Mark Kenneth Jalapadan during a press briefing on August 7.
(Now, for the core events, these are events mainly organized by the city government and some from private organizations, which have run in our Higalaay Festival for the past 5 to 10 years.)
The core events, primarily organized by the city government, included the Higalaay Grand Launching on August 8 at Rio de Oro Boulevard and the Higalaay Civic-Military Parade and Float Competition on August 27, which has 136 contingents registered so far.
Major highlights include the 60th Miss Cagayan de Oro Pageant on August 23, the Mindanao Fashion Summit from August 21 to 23, the PyroMusical Competition on August 24, and the Religious and Fluvial Procession along the Cagayan de Oro River on August 28, which will be held without competition this year.
“This time, wala tayong competition for the Religious and Fluvial Procession because we want it to be as solemn as possible. So we have to give this activity para sa atong kapistahan, and of course, activity pud sa atong simbahan,” Jalapadan said.
(We want the Religious and Fluvial Procession to be as solemn as possible, so we don’t have a competition. So we have to give this activity for our festival, and of course, an activity of our church as well.)
The city government has allocated a budget of P20 million for the Higalaay Festival 2025, with an additional P8 million expected from sponsorships.
“This year’s budget is P20 million, pero dili na siya gikan sa city hall tanan. We are banking on some sponsorships pa gani kay if you remember last year, our budget was P15M, pero niabot gyud ra og P28 million ato. Thankful ta sa atong generous sponsors sad nga nahimong successful ang atong mga activities because of their help also,” City Mayor’s Chief of Staff Sheila Lumbatan said.
(This year’s budget is P20 million, but it’s not all from the city hall. We are banking on some sponsorships because, if you remember last year, our budget was P15M, but it reached P28 million. We are grateful to our generous sponsors, and our activities have been successful because of their help as well.)
She added that the festival is also an investment in promoting Cagayan de Oro beyond the region. “We are advertising Cagayan de Oro to the rest of the Philippines and to the rest of the world,” she said.
Lumbatan also noted the need for matching the budget to the level of quality the city aims for. “If we would like to come up with a better and quality activity, it really entails pud the corresponding budget. So for this year, we have P20 million ang atoang projected nga cost sa atoang allocated na gyud siya,” she said.
(If we would like to come up with a better and quality activity, it also entails the corresponding budget. So for this year, we have P20 million as our projected cost of what we have already allocated.)
To raise the city’s profile and align with established festivals like Kadayawan, Dinagyang, and Sinulog, Jalapadan emphasized the need for continued investment in tourism, citing a 43% increase in tourist arrivals in 2023 and 2024 compared to 17% in 2022. The figures come from accredited hotels and tourism accommodations, with additional visitors using Airbnb or visiting relatives.
“This year, we have a shift gamay sa atong (slight in our) tourism development plan for Cagayan de Oro for the next three years, 2026 to 2029. So we have initial talks now with the Department of Tourism about how to optimize and maximize the potential that we have here in Cagayan de Oro,” Jalapadan said.
With its diverse program targeting various sectors, the Higalaay Festival continues to build on its identity as the “Friendliest Festival” in the country. Jalapadan invited the public to join the activities happening throughout August. (RTP/PIA-10)
