During the time of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, we usually started Kadayawan with a fluvial parade along the Davao River, the river where it all began. Historically, the Davao River was precisely this — a liquid corridor that did not separate peoples but rather converged them. The Davao River became an entrepôt — a bustling marketplace where Maguindanaoan traders, Kagan fishermen, and Bagobo farmers met to barter. Davao River, also known as Tagalook River, turned strangers into neighbors, and neighbors into a shared polity. Look at the modern challenges facing the Davao River — pollution, siltation, and devastating floods.