THE DAVAO City Council on Tuesday urged Parada Dabawenyo participants on March 28 to participate in the parade on foot and to avoid driving vehicles during the entirety of the parade.
Proponent Councilor J Melchor Quitain Jr. said his proposal highlights the importance of saving fuel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Quitain said the war depleted fuel supply and other oil products in the country, and it would be prudent to save and conserve these resources.
“The insufficiency of gasoline and other oil products has spiked the price/cost thereof over and above normal levels and consequently resulted in the uncontrollable rise of the price of prime commodities almost beyond reach,” Quitain said in a resolution.
He added that the war in the Middle East is threatening to escalate instead, urging the public to
help mitigate the impact of the hardships by limiting the usage of gasoline/diesel/oil until such time the situation improves or goes back to normal.
“Each Dabawenyo can, in his/her own small way, contribute to the mitigation of hardship that the country is confronted with, brought about by the shortage and rising cost of fuel, commodities, and utilities, which includes electricity,” he stressed.
During a sideline interview, Quitain emphasized that restricting the use of vehicles can not diminish the spirit of the Araw ng Davao celebration.
“I think it will not destroy the spirit of Araw ng Davao, it’s important that we are together, even without vehicles, we celebrate,” he said.
“This time, let’s just be thrifty. It’s a good example that whenever we use fuel for our vehicles, we use it for important things like going to work, bringing our children to school, I think the parade we can dispense with using our vehicle,” he added.
Harold Quibete, Parada Dabawenyo organizer, earlier said there are 318 registered contingents during the parade and expecting 20,000-25,000 parading participants.
The city council also called on the Department of Energy to attend the next regular session to discuss the fuel reserves and situational report amid the ongoing fuel price increase.
