BAGUIO CITY – Local officials and organizers of the 22nd staging of the Baguio Flower Festival otherwise known as the Panagbenga will be working on a lean and mean budget of about P12 million to bankroll the various activities lined up for the month-long festivities.
Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the Panagbenga Executive Committee and president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB), said the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) will raise some P7 to P8 million from the various income-generating activities of the flower festival and sponsors to cover the expenses of the different events while the local government will use its P4 million subsidy specifically for the prizes of the winners of the different contests lined up for the duration of the festival.
The Panagbenga will kick off on February 1, 2017, with the grand opening parade and the elimination round of the streetdancing for the elementary and secondary levels which will run until March 5, 2017.
Despite the limited funds, de Leon pointed out the quality of the activities for the festival continues to significantly improve every year.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the local government is trying to make representations with Rep. Mark Go and the tourism department for them to allocate some financial assistance to the foundation to help defray the expenses of the organizers in support of greater participation of more streetdancing delegations and attract more companies to bring in their floral-designed floats.
He claimed organizers are contemplating on increasing the prizes of the grand streetdancing parade and the grand float parade to make these more competitive by attracting more delegations and companies wanting to showcase their performances and float designs.
“We have to continue looking for available funds to augment our available budget to attract greater participation from within and outside the region, especially among streetdancing delegations, which is a major component of our flower festival,” Domogan stressed.
He admitted the P250,000 grand prize given to the winning float is actually not sufficient to defray the costs one that will compete in the Panagbenga’s grand float parade which costs at least P500,000.
Organizers of the Sinulog festival in Cebu spend more than P60 million for their week-long festivities while Ati-atihan organizers allocate at least P35 to P40 million for their activities in Iloilo. The Mascara festival in Bacolod City has a budget of some P25 to P30 million.
Both parties are confident that amidst the absence of sufficient resources from the government and the private sector, participants of the different events will be able to maintain the quality of their activities. By Dexter A. See
