Kadayawan sa Dabaw drew its largest crowd in festival history this year, with more than 120,000 residents and visitors gathering along the parade route for the Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan and bringing attention to one of the city’s most basic everyday needs: water.
The influx of people meant busier days for businesses serving visitors, from hotels and restaurants to markets, transport providers, and other establishments. Behind the scenes are the everyday services that help these businesses keep up with increased demand and provide a good experience for their customers.
For many establishments, this includes having reliable access to water for preparing food, washing dishes, cleaning rooms and keeping establishments sanitary.
For visitors, it can also be something they notice precisely because it is part of everyday life.
Grace Dimapilis, a resident of Alfonso, Cavite, visited Davao for this year’s Kadayawan celebration to spend time with her Dabawenyo relatives. During her visit, she noticed a difference in how water is accessed and used in Davao compared with what she is accustomed to back home.
“I was actually surprised that my family here drinks water straight from the tap. Where I live, we usually have to buy water gallons or use a filter,” she said.
For businesses, periods of increased activity can make the importance of a dependable water supply more apparent.
One Davao hotel, for example, previously sourced around 90 cubic meters of water daily from outside suppliers, spending about PHP 600,000 a month. With improved access to its regular water supply, the hotel was able to reduce its purchases from alternative sources.
“We no longer need to call the service provider every two days. We have around 700 cubic meters of water capacity in our hotel, so our demand is consistently met on a daily basis, and we no longer need to contact outside service providers,” said the hotel’s Fire Life and Safety Manager.
“Guests are happy. Operations are faster, and we consistently deliver our services because we now have enough water supply in our hotel,” the manager added.
The increase in visitor activity comes as Davao continues to see growth in tourism. The Davao City Tourism Operations Office recorded 1,045,854 tourist arrivals from January to June 2026, an 11.70% increase from the same period last year, based on city hotel check-in data.
Major events such as Kadayawan bring activity across the city, creating demand for water among hotels, restaurants, markets, and other establishments that serve residents and visitors.
As more people come to Davao for festivals, business, and leisure, water remains part of the basic infrastructure supporting the city’s daily activity.
Infrastructure supporting a growing city
Part of Davao’s water infrastructure is the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP), a public-private partnership between Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (Apo Agua) and the Davao City Water District (DCWD).
The project treats water from the Tamugan River and can deliver up to 300 million liters of treated water per day to DCWD’s distribution system, complementing existing groundwater sources.
For businesses, access to a dependable water supply can also affect operating costs and day-to-day continuity. Establishments that previously relied on alternative sources may reduce those purchases when regular water supply is available.
This is particularly relevant for businesses that experience changes in activity during major events. Hotels need water for guest rooms and laundry, restaurants for food preparation and
cleaning, while markets and other establishments require water for sanitation and daily operations.
As Davao continues to attract visitors and economic activity, these everyday requirements remain part of the infrastructure supporting the city.
For residents, businesses, and visitors, the role of water can be easy to overlook precisely because it is part of everyday life. During a major festival like Kadayawan, however, the sheer volume of people and activity makes that everyday demand more visible.
Kadayawan showed not only the energy of a city in celebration, but also its capacity to welcome large crowds and support major events, with the essential infrastructure and services already in place to keep the city running as activity and demand grow.
Davao is ready. Life is indeed here.
