MP LGUs, private group to manage Lang-ay fest

By Roger Sacyaten

BONTOC, Mountain Province – In a bid to make local officials and the public aware of the enhanced preparations for the staging of the Lang-ay Festival 2015, a management team has been going around the different municipalities to draw the pro-active support and participation of the local government units and the public to the Lang-ay Festival 2015.

The management for the staging of Lang-ay Festival next year is to be undertaken through the partnership of the provincial government and the private sector with involvement of local government units and selected national line agencies.

After a series of meetings with Gov. Leonard Mayaen, who conveyed his willingness to transfer the management of the Lang-ay Festival to the private sector, representatives of the business, academe, and religious sectors with the participation of representatives from provincial and national offices organized the Lang-ay Festival Organization, Inc. which is now registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   

As the entity undertaking the preparations under the partnership for the unique and distinguished regional icon Lang-ay Festival, the organization has opted, through a team, to conduct information campaign in municipalities to promote Lang-ay Festival 2015 preparations and urge support and participation of the local government officials and the public to the various activities lined up this early.

Paulino “Pao” Tumapang, Jr., Lynn Madalang, the chairperson and co-chair, respectively, of the organization and this writer, as head of the secretariat, first went to Tadian last Sept. 1, then Bauko the following day, Paracelis in Sept. 5,   and Besao in Sept. 9.

The team is to proceed to Natonin on Sept. 15 and to the rest of the municipalities depending on the schedules provided for by the local government units.

“There is a need to inform the local government officials and the public about the various innovations and added activities for the festival next year and in the process encourage them to support and actively participate in the festivities”, said  Tumapang.

It was also stressed during meetings with LGU officials and heads of offices, that the promotion of the festival is the shared responsibility of the officials and the public. “With the innovations and enhanced activities, we entice everyone to invite their friends, relatives, and acquaintances to come and be part of Lang-ay 2015”, Lyn Madalang, the Chairperson of the Committee on Linkages, succinctly told the participants of the municipal assemblies she attended.

Among the innovations planned in the month-long festivities, not just one week as before, are the Cultural Week on the third week of April next year wherein each municipality will be allotted a day for performances and demonstrations of the best of ‘life ways’ of the local people. The local officials are being asked to help in the mobilization and provisions of the bests that the municipality can provide to make the presentations and showcases genuine and excellent.

The festivities will start April 8 just a day after the commemoration of the Foundation Day of the province on April7, and will culminate in a street dancing and cultural presentation on April 25, 2015.

Another added activity is the conduct of municipal eco-tourism treks and adventures to document and promote the tourism attractions of the municipalities in the social media and the conventional ways in the tri-media.

From the launching of the Lang-ay Festival 2015, on October 29, 2014, a trekking activity will be undertaken in Paracelis, November in Barlig, December in Sadanga, Bontoc in January, and the rest of the municipalities on their respective scheduled festivals.

The plan highlights the participation of municipal representatives led by the Municipal Tourism Action Officers (MTAOs) and local tourism stakeholders. The treks will, however, be invitational with registration fees so that the public can also participate.

Preparations and support from the local government units, as well as stakeholders, are needed and expected to bolster the basic tourism awareness of the people in the municipalities.

The municipal tour is also an opportunity for consultation with the LGU officials wherein the Organization entertains comments and suggestions for the betterment of the festivities. As the Lang-ay Festival has been through a ten year period, there are issues and concerns in the yearly staging that can be contributory to make the activities more significant and meaningful if properly addressed. 

The meetings are chances also for the team to interact with the local officials and stakeholders on how to improve the tourism industry in the province as a whole and in the respective municipalities in particular.

With the Municipal Tourism Action Officers (MTAOs) as the official go-between the Lang-ay Organization and the local government units, the development of tourism in the different municipalities is an inherent concern that partakes with the concerted efforts of the organizers and the local government officials and tourism stakeholders.

This scheme will be a great help to the Provincial Tourism Office and the respective local government units as the collaboration is expected to bolster the documentation and promotion of local tourism attractions and destinations in the different municipalities.

Gov. Leonard Mayaen had been emphatic in tourism development for the province. He acknowledged significant contribution of tourism in the province’s development and economy considering limited livelihood opportunities and absence of factories.