BAGUIO CITY— The month-long Panagbenga Festival started here Feb. 1, with this resort city poised to gain around a billion pesos as a result of activities.
Dangal “Amboy” Guevarra, chief of staff, Panagbenga 2012-Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. said this figure is rough computed estimate the city would earn.
Guevarra said the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation will not earn anything from this but this will be earned by those in the tourism industry related businesses in the city.
The Department of Tourism last year has estimated over a million visitors during the Street Dancing and Float Parade events of the festivities.
He said if at an average, each individual would spend a thousand pesos for transportation, food, and buying some souvenirs, that would easily convert into a billion pesos of fresh infusion for a day’s activity.
However, he said, nobody has yet come out of how much the city really gains during a festival.
In the case of Victory Liner alone, Guevarra said, the bus company which has a regular of 80 trips to plying the Baguio and Manila route, during the main events of the festival, the street dancing and the float parade, they add a additional of 100 trips, this is only a single bus company we are talking about, he added.
If the transportation sector experiences a business boom during the festival, so would other business such as restaurants, hotels and would trickle down to the cottage industry sector to the simple street vendors, he said.
This event, according to Guevarra is a boost to the Baguio economy, the BFFI is just here to promote and manage the event, those who actually gain is the community itself.
The grand opening parade was held Feb.1 with hundreds of spectators lining up roads along the Central Business District.
A short program was held earlier at the Panagbenga Park as prayers from different religious sectors were delivered by Bishop CarlitoCenzon, Brother Derek Johnson, CCF Ministry and ImmanBedejim Abdullah representing the Islam community.
This was followed by an uggayam (native chant) by Mayor Mauricio Domogan to usher goodwill, prosperity and success of the evcnt.
A black butchered pig was butchered in Igorot rites as offering to Kabunian (God).
Present were Rep. Bernardo Vergara and other city officials.
Bearing the colors were the Philippine Military Academy cadets and Philippine National Police personnel.
Barangay officials joined festivities as elementary drum and lyre bands played the Panagbenga Hymn and delegates paraded along Session and Harrison roads and headed to Athletic Bowl where hundreds of early spectators packed the grand stand.
Fourteen elementary schools in the city showcased their dancing and musical skills in the drum and lyre competition wherein the Baguio Central School was declared champion and bagged P130,000 pesos cash prize.
Don Mariano Marcos Elementary School and Baguio City SPED Center emerged as second and third place and took home 110,000 and 90,000 pesos in cash respectively.
Meanwhile, the Baguio City Police Office deployed 1,968 personnel throughout the city for duration of the festival.
These personnel include 66 augmentations from Regional Public Safety Battalion, 40 police recruits undergoing Field Training Program, 100 projected augmentations from Cordillera Administrative Region Training School and 18 members of PNP National Support Units to complement the 455 number of BCPO personnel.
Support Units will also be deployed during the festivities such as Tactical Operations Group Philippine Air Force Explosive Ordnance Division, Bureau of Fire Protection and police auxiliaries.
Volunteer groups will participate in peacekeeping with. 988 personnel from communication groups of while 94 barangay tanods from the central business district pledged their support.
Police Interns of schools such as University of the Cordilleras, University of Baguio and Baguio Central University totaling to 119 will also be utilized especially during the Grand Float Parade and Street Parade on the 25th and 26th.
Four police assistance centers will be established at the whole stretch of Session Road during the “Session Road in Bloom” starting Feb. 27 to March 2.
The 4 PACs will be situated, one below the Post Office, one between La Azotea and Sky World, one in front of PNB and one at Malcolm Square.
The number coding scheme is suspended for private motor vehicles from Feb. 12 to March 2 while following roads will be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic: Feb 1, 2012, 4 a.m. to 1p.m. - from South Drive Teacher's Camp gate to military cut-off rotunda to Lower Session Road, Session Road and Harrison Road for the Panagbenga 2012 opening parade
Feb. 25, 4 a.m. to 1p.m. - from South Drive Teacher's Camp gate to military cut-off rotunda to Lower Session Road, Session Road and Harrison Road for the Grand Street Parade
Feb. 26, 4 a.m. to 1p.m. - from South Drive Teacher's Camp gate to military cut-off rotunda to Lower Session Road, Session Road and Harrison Road for the Grand Float Parade
Feb. 28, 12 p.m. to March 6, 12 midnight - Session Road from SM rotunda to mercury drug of malcolm square and to include roads and backstreets intersecting Session Road and Gov. Pack road for Session Road in bloom
Feb 1, 26 and 27, 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. - the loading and unloading of the passengers of Victory Liner Buses shall be at the Baguio Convention Center grounds to ensure the unobstructed use of Upper Session as assembly point of participants for the Panagbenga 2012 activities.
No comments:
Post a Comment