Benguet tones down Adivay fest; cancels parade, canao

By Redjie Cawis

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet --The provincial government toned down celebration  of the Adivay Festival on occasion of the 113th  founding anniversary of Benguet   to  sympathize with victims of  Typhoon Yolanda in Visayas.  

Gov. Nestor Fongwan  said the traditional grand cañao and the grand parade set Nov. 23, highlight of the annual Adivay celebration, was scrapped.  

Twenty  three pigs  were  set to be offered   in the  traditional "owik"   after the parade of 13 municipalities.

            

He said other activities were retained and it was just the festive mood  in the parade and in the canao  that the province toned down.

"It is the festive mood that we want to take out, with all the news of suffering of our countrymen because of Typhoon Yolanda," the governor said.

Instead of the festivities on Nov. 23, a solidarity prayer  was held by participants from the 13 municipalities.

The money to be used in the celebration will instead   be donated to typhoon victims, Fongwan said.

He said in  2009, after destructive Typhoon Pepeng hit the province leaving almost a hundred people dead, the provincial government cancelled all Adivay activities and instead the budget for the festival was used for rehabilitation of the province.

The province of Benguet is set to give a one million peso donation to victims of the typhoon and the provincial government will be identifying the area where the fund will go.

Fongwan also said that there have been requests from his fellow chief executives devastated by the typhoon for support in terms of equipment such as generators and they are thinking of how they could help.

He said vegetables at the moment should not be  donated because of the problem on the transportation and vegetables are highly perishable.