Du30 urged: Declare MP holiday for Lang-ay fest

By Roger Sacyaten and Pamela Mariz Geminiano

BONTOC, Mountain Province --  President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was urged by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to issue a presidential proclamation declaring April 8, 2019, a Monday, as a non-working holiday in the province.

April 7 is the Foundation Day for the province and falls on a Sunday.

“It is for this reason that the Provincial Government of Mountain Province requests the issuance of a Presidential Proclamation declaring Monday, April 8, 2019, in lieu of April 7, 2019, as a special non-working holiday in Mountain Province to provide the employees and the people of the province the full opportunity to participate in all the activities and programs lined up for the celebration of the province’ foundations anniversary,” read the Sangguniang Panlalawigan resolution.

The 52nd Foundation Day and the 15th Lang-ay Festival will be staged the first week of on April.

Resolution No. 2018-489 was approved in Dec. 4, 2018 but was only released for delivery last Jan. 9, 2019.

Meanwhile, preparations for the Lang-ay Festival, this year’s edition, is being undertaken.

It was known on the second meeting of the steering committee chaired by Provincial Administrator Amador Batay-an last Jan. 16, that a new major event will be showcased.

The known Lang-ay by the street will be no more and Lang-ay Night Market with Concert will take its place.

From 5 p.m. to midnight, the main street will be closed to give way to Night Market with concert as a main feature.

It will be a series of merry making from April 2, 3, and 5, 2019. However, the details are still being worked out.

Foods and drinks will flood the street but with cost. “Nothing free now, you have to buy,” said Paula Acofo, the association president.

Aside from beer in cans only as intoxicating liquor, fruit wines like Lang-ay wine, bugnay wine, and food delights such as patopat, linapet, sinab-ang, and others may be served but with all the costs.

The main feature is that the market vendors will have the option to bring out the usual commodities inside the market to be sold during the night market. New clothings, not wagawagan fares, will be sold.

The new event will be spearheaded by the Bontoc Market Vendors Association (BOMARVA).

Paula Acofo said that the event will also feature “fancy fare” ala perya while drinks and pulutans will be served.

It was known from the secretariat that all the private sector initiatives of the Lang-ay Festival Foundation will not be showcased during this year’s festival.

Even the popular Igorot showdown and Fashion show will not be conducted.

The Indigenous games will also be limited as a cost cutting measure on the Lang-ay Festival budget.

The local government of Mountain Province expects the annual “Lang-ay Festival” to further boost the tourism industry of the province, Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan said in his State of the Province Address on Monday.

"We are optimistic that the Lang-ay Festival will be an avenue through which we could showcase our tourist spots, culture and, of course, our beautiful Mountain Province as a whole," Lacwasan told a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Lang-ay is a native dialect of the Bontocs meaning to share the happiness, wisdom, promote family solidarity, hospitality, peace and nurture friendship with partaking of the native rice wine.

This year’s Lang-ay Festival, which is now on its 15th year, runs from April 1 to 7 with the highlight of the festival on April 6. It coincides with the 52nd Foundation day of Mountain Province on April 7.

The activities are in this province’s capital town, which is one hour away to the famous tourist destination Sagada.

He also said they have to work closely with the Lang-ay Cultural Festival steering committee, partner agencies and the private sector for the preparations.

The provincial government has allocated P4 million for the twin events in April.

The governor said tourism is an economic driver and they want Mountain Province to benefit from it.

In 2018, the provincial government through the tourism office started the validation of the different tourist attractions in the whole province and conducted a profiling and data collection needed for the tourism guidebook. 

All these, Lacwasan said are part of the crafting of the five-year Provincial Tourism Development Plan, which was already approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Also part of province’s tourism preparation is the holding of tourism-related seminars, training and workshops for the stakeholders.

Lacwasan also reported that 96,857 tourists visited and stayed in the different accommodation establishments in the province from January to September 2018.

Out of the number, 8,146 were foreigners, the governor said.

The province's Tourism office also shows that the top five foreign visitors are from France, United States of America, Germany, South Korea and Japan.

Mountain Province also recorded 337,858 day-time tourists in the province during the same period.  -- PNA