Talks pushed over Panagbenga tiff on fund allocation, programs

By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- A dialogue between and among concerned agencies and personalities as to the management of the Baguio Flower Festival or Panagbenga shall be arranged as soon as the audited statement is ready, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said in a media forum last week.

This was an offshoot of the privilege speech given by Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr., alleging that the flower festival needs to be given back to the city for management as it has “metamorphosed from a cultural event to a commercial endeavor, from a community affair to a profit-driven show.” He also said locals and handicraft producers were not given appropriate chances to promote their products during the Market Encounter of Panagbenga 2014 last February. There was even a call for a resolution to convene a team for the preparation of  Panagbenga 2015, on its 20^th staging; to generate fund for social services, and other city programs and projects.

However the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) held its own press conference at the Baguio Country Club last June 5 to refute said claims.

“The Panagbenga belongs to the people of Baguio City,” BFFFI with member-directors; hotelier Frederico Alquiros, Dr. Julie Cabato, Atty. Damaso Bangaoet, Jr., Schools Superintendent Dr. Francis Cesar Bringas, Mayor Mauricio Domogan, and Congressman Nicasio Aliping, Jr. , said. They also urged public and private entities to work together for the next Panagbenga, or offer alternatives instead of criticizing the activity’s flaws, real or imagined.

           

 The father of Panagbenga, Atty. Bangaoet, Jr., said the flower festival would always emerge developed with inputs from those working for its improvement.

            Physician and environmentalist Dr. Cabato, encouraged the application of family values for those working for Panagbenga; as we “take things to heart.” There should be no “unpeace” in this endeavor, she gently said.

In his privilege speech, Councilor Yangot said that the school and barangay landscape contests were scrapped as there are “not money-making” activities. It has been clarified by BFFFI directors, however that said contests were now year-long clean and green activities, not just for the Panagbenga month.

As to what has been alleged as the flower festival funds being unaudited, Mayor Domogan clarified that every flower festival “has been duly audited, as a “mandatory requirement,” except for the 2005 edition, he said. That was during former BraulioYaranon’s term, he added.

Mayor Domogan also gave out data on the increase of business tax collections before and during the festival’s growth through the years. Business tax was then P13M to P15 M in 1992 before the flower festival, P50M when Panagbenga started and now at P200M annually. The increase is credited to taxes from tourism-oriented businesses and services specially during Panagbenga season. He also called for the council’s passage of a sales tax ordinance.

The running of Panagbenga entails sacrifices from the Baguioites, as there are admittedly inconveniences, the mayor said. The Panagbenga, however has been a product of partnership between the community and private entities, thus it should sustained that way, they said.

The mayor talked about agreement between and among the parties, thus the dialogue being scheduled.