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Cebu

Palawod Festival

Palawod Festival is a cultural, sea, and religious festival in Bantayan Island, Cebu, Philippines every June 29. Its schedule coincides with the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, the patron saints of the island.

Palawod Festival is one of the participants in Pasigarbo sa Sugbo every August.

Etymology

Palawod Festival comes from the word lawod, meaning open sea, and palawod means going to the open sea.

History of Palawod Festival

Palawod Festival began in 2000 during the time of Remedios A. Escario as mayor. It is a fest meant to celebrate the culture and tradition of fisher folks of the island, the rich harvest of the sea, and the contribution of fishing to the local economy.

Bantayan is a collection of islands and islets found across the northwestern seaboard of Cebu. Its surrounding seawater is a passageway of shipping vessels due to its geographic location. It is teeming with diverse marine life, and for decades it has been designated as a protected area such as Proclamation No. 2151 in 1981 and the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992.

Fishing has been a major source of food and livelihood of its people. Since the Spanish times, the islands were populated by the natives who survived on the bounties of the sea. However, they were also vulnerable to destructive raids perpetrated by Moro pirates coming from the southern Philippines.

The island is also famous for being exempted from fasting from the consumption of meat during Holy Week. It is believed that this special distinction allowed Christians to prepare meals, avoid going out to the sea to catch fish, and observe the Lenten obligations.

Another theory suggested that it began during the construction of the colonial-era church, allowing the people to take part in forced labor. Other proposed explanation was that fisher folks feared divine punishment when engaging in fishing out in the open sea at the height of the Holy Week.

The dance contingent of Palawod Festival is multi-awarded, grabbing the top prize in ritual showdown in Pasigarbo sa Sugbo in 2008, 2009, and 2010. They have also participated in Sinulog Festival.

Devotion to St. Peter and St. Paul

Palawod Festival coincides with the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The Augustinians founded the church in Bantayan as a parish on June 11, 1580, becoming the first and the oldest parish created in Cebu. It belonged to the Archdiocese of Mexico until 1595 when it was annexed to the newly created Diocese of Cebu. Its first patron was Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion), then St. Peter and St. Paul were installed as the town’s patrons. In 1603, the parish was handed over from the pastoral care of the Augustinians to the secular clergy.

The parish was erected in the island due to its substantial population of natives who converted to Christianity. However, they were subjected to destructive raids by the Moros. These attacks resulted to looting, killing, and kidnapping of natives to be sold off to the slave trade in the Dutch Indies. In 1628, many people were carried off by the Moro pirates and in 1754, the church was destroyed.

The present-day stone church was constructed during Spanish colonial times. Fr. Doreteo Andrada del Rosario initiated the church-building in 1839. Built from coral stones quarried from the sea, it was completed in 1863.

The church was declared national heritage structure and the National Historical Institute installed a marker designating the house of worship was a Level II historic site.

References

Palawod Festival Summary

NamePalawod Festival
CelebrationCulture, Religion, Sea
CountryPhilippines
DateJune 29
Emaillgubantayan@gmail.com
Established2000
Facebookwww.facebook.com
FounderRemedios A. Escario
LocationBantayan Island, Cebu
OrganizerLocal Government of Bantayan
PatronSt. Peter, St. Paul
ReligionRoman Catholic
Simultaneous eventFeast of Sts. Peter and Paul
Websitelgubantayan.gov.ph