LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government is awaiting the decision of the national government on the community quarantine restrictions that will be implemented nationwide next year before deciding on the magnitude of the annual strawberry festival.
Based on the latest advisory from the health department on the status of local governments pursuant to the current state of national health emergency, Benguet remains under Alert Level 2 because of its alleged failure to meet the prescribed 70 percent vaccination among the population and members of the vulnerable sectors in the province.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda stated that the municipal government wants to resume the full-blown conduct of the various activities for the annual strawberry festival but there is a need for the organizers to await next year’s community quarantine restrictions.
He claimed that the local government continues to get inquiries on the plans for next year’s strawberry festival but organizers are still awaiting the decision of the national government on the limitations required that will help contain the further spread of the deadly virus.
Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. extended the state of national public health emergency up to the need of the year to help contain the spread of the deadly virus triggered by the mutations of the different variants.
The annual strawberry festival of the capital town is held every March, the peak season of the strawberries produced by the thousands of farmers. The festival is the major crowd drawing event of the municipality that coincides with the fiesta of the St. Joseph parish church.
In 2004, La Trinidad was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records after it baked the largest strawberry shortcake in the world.
Further, the municipal government eventually institutionalized the annual strawberry festival as its major crowd drawing event to sustain the influx of tourists to the municipality where good quality strawberries are produced by the farmers.
Mayor Salda urged concerned stakeholders to be patient in waiting for the decision of the national government on the current state of national health emergency so that organizers can be guided in the formulation of the festival plans aligned with community quarantine restrictions that will be enforced in case the threat of the pandemic is still present.
Establishments operating in areas that had been placed under Alert Level 2 are allowed to operate up to a maximum of 50 percent of their prescribed capacity to ensure the compliance of the public to the ongoing implementation of the minimum public health standards to prevent the future surges in COVID-19 cases.
Salda expressed hope that the province will be able to improve its alert level status in the coming months to increase the occupancy of establishments towards full economic recovery.
