Politicking barred in Panagbenga fest

By Dexter A. See  

BAGUIO CITY  – Organizers of the 18^th staging of the Panagbenga or the Baguio flower festival barred national and local candidates from openly campaigning in the city during the grand street dancing parade and float parade, highlight of the city’s premier crowd-drawing event in February.

Freddie Alquiroz, chairman of the Panagbenga executive committee, explained the decision to ban open political campaigning during the two major parades on Feb. 23-24, 2013 was reached in order to allow the spectators to have a clearer view of the dynamism of the streetdancers and the beauty of the flower-decorated floats.

 “We do not want our politicians to grab the limelight during the highlights of the flower festival,” Alquiroz said, adding no open campaigning during the two major parades will be strictly enforced and marshals of the parades are authorized to pullout violators in any stage of the events once they start breaking the lines.

           

With the theme “A Blooming Odyssey,” the 18^th staging of the Panagbenga will feature more fresh flowers during the conduct of the indigenous-flavored grand streetdancing parade to cater to the clamor of spectators for the dancers to be decorated with fresh flowers in order to continuously enhance the livelihood of flower growers in the Baguio and Benguet areas.

           

However, Alquiroz disclosed national and local candidates can join the float parade and marching bands competition by putting up their own float for their own province or company where they could ride but they are not allowed to distribute campaign materials or throw souvenir items to the crowd to ensure order in the parade.

           

“Next year’s participating floats must be composed of 90 percent flowers so that the crowd will be able to really appreciate our locally grown flowers,” Alquiroz stressed, adding that there will be a significant increase in the number of participating floats based on the inquiries and commitments they had been receiving over the past several months.

           

For his part, Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the Panagbenga executive committee, rallied hundreds of flower growers to ensure the abundant supply of flowers because over the past several years, organizers and participants to the float parade had been encountering shortage of fresh flowers considering the huge demand during the Panagbenga season.

           

 “For us in the Baguio Country Club, we have established our own greenhouse and environmental lanes which produce our own flowers that we use to decorate our float that we parade during the float parade,” de Leon said, citing that because of the increase in the demand of flowers during the harvest season, local flowers are now having a difficult time, thus, flowers from outside Baguio and Benguet are also in demand.

           

He claimed the conduct of the flower festival is a government-led community supported event in order to entice visitors to come up to the city and help in improving the growth of the local tourism industry which will sustain the city’s economic growth.

           

According to de Leon, organizers are still open in the list up of events that will be lined up for the month-long festivities that will start on February 1, 2013 with the elimination round of the streetdancing parade and will end on March 3, 2013 with a 42-kilometer marathon known as the “Panagbenga Run” and colorful closing ceremonies with fireworks display.

           

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan welcomed the prohibition imposed by the organizers to the open political campaigning, saying that local residents and visitors must be given a treat during the grand streetdnaicng parade through the numerous local and visiting dancing contingents and the subsequent float parade.