Over 100 cows slaughtered in Zamboanga for Eidl Adha celebration

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 28 May 2026) — Over a hundred cows were slaughtered in this city as part of this year’s Eidl Adha celebration on Wednesday.

Erlan Esenkanov, director of the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School, told members of the media that they have procured 110 cows for this year’s Qurban, an Islamic ritual of sacrificing livestock such as cow, sheep, or goat, which is then distributed to orphanages and families in poor communities.

Esenkanov said this was made possible through the help of their partners from Germany, Australia, and Malaysia. 

The city government assisted the school by allowing the use of the city’s abattoir to ensure the livestock are slaughtered following sanitary procedures.

Each beneficiary family received 1.5 to 2 kilos of beef. “Usually in our country we give 5 kilos. But here, we give less since they don’t have refrigerators and it will be spoiled the next day,” Esenkanov explained.

This tradition has been practiced by the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School since it operated in Zamboanga in 1997. Esenkanov expressed hopes to get more partners in the coming years.

Some barangays in the city also slaughtered cows and distributed the meat to their constituents.

Jinnul Malik, chairperson of Barangay Rio Hondo, said in an interview that their family has been doing Qurban since 1998, after he and his wife went to their second pilgrimage to Mecca. This year, Malik slaughtered two cows and distributed 2 kilos to each family in their village.

Malik said this is part of their family’s way “to honor Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion and willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.”

Meanwhile, thousands of the faithful gathered at the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex for the congregational prayer. Similar prayer was held in various mosques in the city. (Queenie Casimiro / MindaNews)