Singson, top officials to grace Bauko Begnas fest

By Gina Dizon

BAUKO, Mountain Province -- Highways secretary Rogelio Singson and regional Science and Technology director Julius Caesar Sicat will be guest speakers of the March 12-14 celebration of this town’s 9th Begnas Festival.

Mayor Abraham Akilit said Singson will inaugurate the Maba-ay Abatan Road funded by the convergence program of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways and Department of Tourism.

Organic products would be marketed in agro-industrial fair by livelihood groups at Bauko Catholic school grounds.

 Bauko being the vegetable producing municipality of the province, raising organic vegetables is a thrust of the local government unit with the formation of livelihood groups federated into the Bauko Organic Producers Association.

 Apart from organic veggies to be sold during the three-day event are clay pots made by Bila women potters.   

 The DOST has provided support in the amount of P2 million ceramic water filter for the pottery livelihood in Bila, Bauko. Construction of a tramline projected to be sourced from DOST is targeted to bring the clay from the mountain slope source to the pottery site.

 A special part of the event was trek to Mount Polis third week of February and a post-festival trek on the 14th of March.

Mount Polis is a favorite among trekkers with its friendly hiking terrain starting from the village of Bagnen Oriente to the peak of the mountain overseeing Bagnen barangay and the adjoining municipalities of  Sabangan and Sagada     

Protecting the watershed is a twin emphasis of Akilit former director of the National Irrigation Authority supporting programs including the National Greening Program and the Integrated Natural Resource Management Project of Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

 Other invited guests are Bauko native Baguio City Rep. Nicasio Aliping and Bauko native Rep. Maximo Dalog of Mountain Province; sister town mayors Edna Tabanda of La Trinidad Benguet, Ferdinand Tubban of TabukKalinga, and Clifford Patil-ao of Quirino Ilocos Sur; Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan and the vice president of the League of Mayors of Mountain Province, Sabangan Mayor Donato Danglose LMP president, and Mountain Province governor Leonard Mayaen.

Delegates from the 22 barangays of Bauko will join cultural presentations, ballroom dancing, ballgames, and event called Bauko Got Talent.