The Palawod Festival is an annual fiesta in honor of Saints Peter and Paul held every June 29. The festival has already gained national and internal acclaim and it holds the honor of being the 3-time grand champion of the province-wide Pasigarbo sa Sugbo Festival of Festivals Competition.

Palawod is the act of going out to sea with the sole intent to fish. It is a fisherman's daily toil, his means of livelihood, his life and pride. It depicts the life in a fishing village like Bantayan.

The Bantayan Island is a fishing island group. It is reported to be within the migration route of fishes coming from the China Sea. The island is blessed with abundant fishes because of its strategic location. But then, because of over fishing and prohibited ways of fishing and intrusion of commercial fishing boats within the municipal waters, there's a big decline in the marine resources.

The highlights of the Palawod Festival are the street dancing and ritual showdown competitions. It is performed with four basic steps: sulo (torch), bugsay (paddle), silik (fins) and isda (fish).

The Palawod Festival is one of the most colorful and world-class festival not only of Cebu but in the Philippines.

How to Get There

From Manila, you can fly to Cebu (estimated cost of Php3,000++, round trip, 45 minutes).

From Cebu City, you can take a bus ride (about 3 hours) to Hagnaya to take you to the Island Express Ferry Boat going to Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island (about 1 hour).

----------------------------------
photos/source/reference: bantayan.gov.ph