Tanudan will hold Foundation Day celebration, Kape Festival in June, but cancels major activities amid Middle East crisis

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The Municipality of Tanudan has compressed its 2026 Tanudan Day and Kape Festival into a one-day celebration, removing major activities such as the Mayor’s Cup and the Search for Miss Tanudan to reduce costs amid the ongoing crisis brought about by tensions in the Middle East.

In previous years, the municipality staged the Mayor’s Cup to kick off the Tanudan Day celebration, providing iTanudans an avenue to showcase their sportsmanship through a series of basketball and volleyball matches.

The Tanudan Founding Anniversary and Kape Festival were also traditionally celebrated over two days, featuring major events such as the Search for Miss Tanudan, Barangay Night, and DepEd Day.

For this year’s commemoration, the Municipal Local Government Unit (LGU), headed by Mayor Jaedicke Rhoss Dagadag, decided to scale down the celebration by removing these major activities in response to the economic challenges being felt nationwide. The decision was formalized through Executive Order No. 51, s. 2026.

As a result, the 2026 municipal-wide festivity will be marked through a simple yet meaningful one-day celebration on June 25, 2026, featuring a thanksgiving mass and a short program.

The executive order also grants discretion to barangays on how they will celebrate their respective fiestas this year. However, they are advised to conserve energy and are informed that the Municipal LGU will not be able to provide financial assistance for such activities.

LGU also considers participants’ expenses

Municipal Administrator Atty. Novilyn Matnao-Baclili said the LGU also took into account the financial burden on participants, not just the expenses to be incurred by the municipality.

“In cancelling the Mayor’s Cup, the LGU did not only consider the expenses that will be incurred by the LGU but also the participants, who are mostly youth and dependent on their parents, vis-à-vis the fuel crisis that we are experiencing right now and its effects,” she explained.

Baclili added that the decision was made “to ensure municipal compliance with the national directive and to prioritize the safety, welfare, and efficient use of public resources for our constituents.”