Agencies cited for safety, success of T’nalak festival

KORONADAL CITY - Credit for the peaceful six-day T’nalak Festival here partly goes to state uniformed service personnel and civilian volunteers, South Cotabato’s provincial governor said Tuesday.

Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. said he is grateful to the police, the military and the Bureau of Fire Protection for ensuring the safety of spectators and participants to the July 13 to 18, 2022 T’nalak merrymaking.

The yearly event, pioneered more than two decades ago, showcases the unique cultural identities of indigenous people in South Cotabato, capped off with trade fairs and competitions highlighting the ethnicity of the local communities.

The T’nalak Festival also highlights the yearly founding anniversary of the now 56-year South Cotabato, a province under Administrative Region 12.

Officials told reporters no fewer than 40,000 people from across central Mindanao and other parts of the country came by to witness July 13-18 T’nalak festivities.

“Thanks to the Koronadal City government and all volunteer community watchmen in its constituent-barangays for having played an important role that resulted in the success of the festival,” Tamayo said.

The T’nalak is a handwoven fabric, a strong icon of South Cotabato’s ethnic T’boli group.

Tamayo said his administration also appreciates the security support, for this year’s T’nalak Festival, from the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office under the Police Regional Office-12, the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division, via its 5^th Special Forces Battalion covering Koronadal City and towns around, and the service-oriented two-way radio group --- the Kabalikat Radiocom Volunteers.

Koronadal City, capital of South Cotabato, is the venue of the annual T’nalak Festival.

“All local government units in our province deserve gratitude from me too for sending in teams from their disaster response outfits,” Tamayo, chairman of the South Cotabato provincial peace and order council, said.