Pasalamat Festival is a cultural and religious festival in the city of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines every third Sunday of January. It is held in honor of Sto. Niño and as a city-wide cultural affair that celebrates tradition and identity. In some years, the third Sunday of January is declared a special non-working holiday.
Pasalamat Festival comes from the word salamat which means thanks. This annual celebration began in 2000 and it is thanksgiving for the favors granted and blessings received from the Sto. Niño.
The image of the Holy Child arrived in 1521 when it was gifted by Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of chieftain of Cebu. It was rediscovered by a Spanish sailor of the expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in an abandoned hut that was spared from fire in 1565. Its devotion spread from Cebu to other parts of the country.
In Pagadian, Sto. Niño is in enshrined at the Sto. Niño Cathedral, the seat of the religious leadership of the Diocese of Pagadian. The church was founded in 1938.The festival is also a toast of its population dubbed as tri-peoples: Christians, Muslims, and the indigenous people called Subanens. Its activities reflect their customs and tradition.
Pasalamat Festival is an affair jointly mounted by the city government and the local Roman Catholic authority. Religious activities of Pasalamat Festival include the novena prayers for nine days and celebration of Holy Eucharist at the cathedral. A fluvial procession is set on the eve of the fiesta as well as a dawn mass. The city-government sponsored events include entertainment, cultural presentations, sporting events, job fair, Miss Regatta, concerts, parade, Pasalamat Ritual Dance competition, and Pasalamat Street Dancing Competition. The job fair activities serve as a significant platform for job seekers and employers to connect, network and to explore employment opportunities and engage in fruitful interactions.
The Pagadian Employment Service Office (PESO) of Pagadian City Government organized a Pasalamat Festival Job Fair on January 16-17, 2024, which was participated and supported by various government agencies, private institutions, and Cooperatives. The Cooperative Development Authority – Region IX extension office facilitated the dissemination of the invitation to cooperatives of Job Fair Event. The cooperative sector demonstrated its commitment to making a positive impact to society by participating this kind of event.
There are Four (4) Cooperatives who actively participated the Job Fair event namely Midsalip Farmer Multipurpose Cooperative, Paglaum Multipurpose Cooperatives, Micro-Entrepreneurs Multipurpose Cooperative and Tagum Cooperative.
Participants were not just job seekers; they were individual seeking a purpose-driven career within the cooperative movement. Conversations buzzed around qualification of applicants, asked their knowledge about the cooperative.
This event provided valuable insights for both job seekers and cooperatives looking to strengthen their team.
The event had not just connected job seekers with cooperatives, it had strengthened the bonds that make cooperatives a driving force for positive change.
by FAIDAH D. DIANGCA, CDS II
