Winners in Panagbenga float parade competition bared

Pugo group rules street dance contest 

By Fely Guanzo and Karen Valle Copa

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan with Panagbenga Festival officials declared winners of this year’s float competition during a media forum here Wednesday.

First time contender Maybank float won champion in small float category taking P150, 000 prize.

Coca-Cola using their ironic red and white color scheme bagged P120, 000 for second place.

One Atomic Marketing Corporation (Zenfone) featuring Asus mascot won third place withPp100, 000 cash prize.

Meanwhile, for the grand float category, NLEX- Manila North Tollways Corporation was once again the champion taking P250,000 while SITEL float which showed colorful parrots and butterflies won second place with P180,000 prize.

Third place went to  REVBLOOM float of the Department of Tourism Cordillera taking P150, 000 cash prize.

This, as La Union’s Pugo Catholic School street dancers captured top honors in the open category of Panagbenga street dancing competition. The winning contingent, which also ruled the 1st Tinungbo Festival competition, depicted the traditional way of cooking food using young bamboo (tinungbo).

“It was surprising but an honor for a small town like us to win considering the quality of performances of the participants and to be included in the history of the Panagbenga,” retired Gen. Eugene Martin, organizing chairman of the Tinungbo Festival, said.

Pugo Mayor Priscilla Martin thanked the Flower Festival Foundation and lauded the Pugo Catholic School street dancers for their stellar performances in the first Tinungbo and Panagbenga festivals.

The i-Lubuagen Performing Group of Kalinga bagged second place honors while the Virac-Itogon Drum and Lyre Corps finished third.

The Pugo, La Union team also won a P120,000 cash prize, while the second and third placers bagged  P100,000 and P80,000, respectively.

In the high school division, Baguio City National High School bested all participants to bring home the championship trophy and P100,000.

Second place honors went to Saint Louis High School which also bagged P70,000 while Pines City National High School wound up in third place and bagged P50,000.

In the elementary division, Apolinario Mabini Elementary School reigned supreme for the fourth straight year.

Runners-up were Baguio Central School and Emilio Aguinaldo Elementary School.

Freddie Alquiros, of executive committee said infusion of culture for the celebration came full circle during Session Road in Bloom.

Alquiros said there was wide cultural spectrum in celebration of Panagbenga. The cultural aspect of it did not get lost but did not overpower also the other dynamics of the festival, he said.

Domogan they went back to how there was a balance of culture and entertainment.

He said people did not like it when they focused too much on the cultural aspect and some people got a little bored with it that’s why they made sure there is harmony and balance in all the aspects of Panagbenga.

Chief of staff secretariat Evangeline Payno said that there were changes in the street dancing and landscape competition. She said they minimized the use of massive props.

The use of novelty songs were also removed, instead they used OPM songs aside from playing the Panagbenga Hymn.

Payno added they emphasized on the story line wherein participants concentrated in their performance rather than their props.

For the landscape competition, Cordillera Sky Landscaping was featured.

Panagbenga is a ‘festival of inclusion,” Domogan said as he urged everyone to join especially those from nearby towns of Benguet.