BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) paid to the local government and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) approximately PhP7million in taxes and other fees that were levied for the conduct of the month-long Baguio Blooms Exhibition Market Encounter within portions of the Juan Luna Drive and the week-long Session Road in Bloom this year.
BFFFI president Freddie Alquiros said that the foundation makes sure that it will not be remiss in the settlement of its obligations with the city government and revenue-generating agencies as part of its being a responsible corporate citizen.
He pointed out that the taxes and fees paid to the local government and the BIR were based on the assessments made on the conduct of the week-long Session Road in Bloom and the month-long Baguio Blooms Exhibition Market Encounter which forms part of its contribution in sustaining the growth of the local economy.
The BFFFI official claimed that the amount being paid by the foundation to the city government and the BIR had grown through the years because of the increase in the number of exhibitors wanting to join the various activities of the annual flower festival where it started with more or less PhP2 million before increasing through the years until it reached the PhP6 million figure.
Last year, the BFFFI paid to the local government and the BIR some PhP6 million in taxes that were based on the assessment of the concerned offices.
For this year, some 430 exhibitors joined the Session Road in Bloom where 130 exhibitors were given to the Liga ng mga Barangay-Baguio chapter while the remaining stalls were left to the foundation with some of the stalls used for missionary purposes that contribute to the advocacy of the participating organizations.
The BFFFI makes sure that it settles its obligation in terms of taxes and fees with the local government and concerned government agencies to ensure that it will have a clean slate when entering another fiscal year of its existence as a duly recognized and registered foundation.
Alquiros assured that the foundation always makes sure that it closely works with the City Treasury Office and the BIR relative to the taxes and fees it must settle prior to the start of the new fiscal year or any of the lined-up income-generating activities as part of its commitment to transparency and being a responsible partner of the government in the conduct of the city’s crowd drawing events.
For his part, BFFFI Chairman Emeritus lawyer Mauricio G. Domogan said that taxes that had been paid by the foundation to the city government has obviously significantly increased because of the active participation of exhibitors to the major Panagbenga events such as the market encounter and the Session Road in Bloom which highlights the vibrance of the local economy aside from its contributions to the promotion of the quality products from other places that join the two major festival activities.
He urged residents and visitors to patronize the numerous flower-inspired crafts, food products among others that are in display in the market encounter and Session Road in Bloom stalls to help in sustaining the vibrance of the economic activities that have been provided to the participating exhibitors with the magnitude of people flocking to the city during this time of the year.
The month-long Baguio Blooms Exhibition market encounter will run from February 1 to March 2, 2025 while the week-long Session Road in Bloom will be conducted from February 24 to March 2, 2025 although concessionaires are allowed to set up their stalls along their designated areas right after the commencement of the grand floral parade on February 23, 2025. By Dexter A. See
