Moving Forward with Promote CDO

The Promote CDO logo

August 28, Saturday is already a marked date for us kagay-anons. The day where everyone is busy in choosing where to go for fun, fun, fun and never-ending fun. It is the day which defines the city of Cagayan.

Dubbed as “the City of Golden Friendship”, the town is on its tedious way in the preparation of the most-awaited event in Cagayan de Oro’s history - the Kagay-an festival 2010. Along with the people’s anticipation for the festival, the city government has prepared various core events(below) to exalt the city as an investment, tourist and cultural destination of the far-east south.

Kagay-an Festival 2010 Core Events
DATE	EVENT	VENUE
August 7	Swimwear competition	Hotel Koresko
August 15	Mags Runway	Limketlai Atrium
August 18	Talent Competition	SM Atrium
August 22	Kagay-an Festival run and Kalo Parade	Kiosko Kagawasan, Divisoria
August 23-29	Kahimunan Regional Trade Fair 2010 (RTF 2010)	Limketkai Rotunda
August 26	Miss Kagay-an 2010	Limketkai Atrium
August 27	Kagay-an Folkloric Dance Competition	Pelaez Sports Center Complex
	PE Rhythmic Dance Competition	Pelaez Sports Center Complex
August 28 (AM)	4th Kagay-an Golden Float Parade Competition	City Main Streets
August 28 (PM)	Halad sa Lambagohan	Golden Mile and Cagayan de Oro River
August 29	Pyrolympics	SM City

The city government and some private organizations are working hand-in-hand in order to have a meaningful and a memorable town fiesta. One of its partners is the Promote CDO Foundation, Inc. It is founded by Congressman Constantino “Tinnex” Jaraula in January 2000. It is a non-stock, non-profit organization ordered to manage the festival as signed by Mayor Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano. The city government has decided to have a signature festival like what any other provinces and cities in the Philippines have. One great example is the “Sinulog festival” in Cebu where the city is renowned for.

The foundation gets funds and budgets from their income generating projects like publishing magazines and flyers containing city’s tourist destinations, well-known hotels, restaurants, bars and coffee shops where they can freely dine-in and other well-acclaimed theaters, super malls and establishments in the city. In addition to that, the foundation also gets a 30% share from the net income of the festival. Whatever funds they get, they directly generate projects from it- “a seed mobilization projects” as what Ms Dive Daquilog calls it. She is the foundation’s Project Coordinator and with her is Ms Marife Babia.

The foundation’s first project is to brand a name for the festival which later on they came up into “Kagay-an Festival”- the official signature festival name of Cagayan de Oro City. Kagay which means “river” and an for “flow”. It is in 2006 that the foundation started to manage the festival.

Aside from the festival, the foundation has also supported different projects like the Mindanao Project Showroom, the Mac Arthur Marker and the City hall’s business center. The Mindanao Project Showroom which is located in Capistrano showcases several products like handicrafts from different provinces in the region. Next to it is the City Hall’s business center for an easy process in securing business licensing permits. The MacArthur Marker which is a historical site because it is believed that here in this place the late U.S General Douglas MacArthur phrased “I shall return” on World War II. The Foundation provides funds to finish the historical site. They also have a proposal in making a Conventions Bureau- an office which will cater business conventions and meetings. They are looking forward to finally plan this project because this will not just help the city to allure investors to invest but also to promote it as a well-established one. More investors mean more opportunities and more jobs for everyone.

Promote CDO is a trailblazer to success. Promoting the city is a good way to invest opportunities. It is likely important that each one of us contributes something that will not just make this city “a City of Golden Friendship” but also “a City of Hope and Success”. We aspire together, we dream together as we move forward unified with one goal: a brighter Cagayan de Oro City.