BAGUIO CITY – Organizers of the 21st edition of the Panagbenga otherwise known as the Baguio flower festival will be using the Melvin Jones football field as the display area of the more or less 25 flower-inspired floats which will be paraded during the grand float parade on February 28, 2016.
Originally, the display area of the participating floats was in front of the main bleachers of the newly renovated Baguio Athletic Bowl in order to prevent the ground and new tartan track oval from being damaged further by the expected influx of local residents and visitors wanting to have a glimpse of the different small and large floats.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the city engineering office will be doing the appropriate widening of the entrance of the Ganza parking area to allow the floats to be able to use the same as the entrance leading to the Athletic Bowl, saying that the organizers opted to use the Melvin Jones football field as the display area of the floats rather inflicting damage to the newly renovated tartan track oval among other facilities within the Athletic Bowl.
Earlier, the contractor and the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) objected to the use of the Baguio Athletic Bowl as the display area for the floats to prevent further damage on the track oval and the ground considering that the completed projects within the facility was not yet inspected by concerned offices which is a requirement for the complete payment of the accomplished works in the area.
Aside from widening the entrance of the Ganza parking area which will be used as the entrance of the floats, the Melvin Jones side of the stonewall will have to be given up to allow the floats to freely enter into the football field.
Furthermore, the city engineering office will be tasked to identify the possible display area so that the owners of the floats will be able to already prepare for the putting in place of appropriate measures that will prevent their floats from being vandalized.
At the same time, organizers are now trying to look for ways and means in order to prevent the public from vandalizing the floats considering that those who sponsored the floats spent hundreds of thousands of pesos just to be able to participate in the grand float parade which is one of the major highlights of the annual conduct of the flower festival.
However, the grounds of the Baguio Athletic Bowl will still be used by the organizers for the grand streetdnacing parade on February 27, 2016 where the public will be witnessing the sterling and dynamic performances of more than 20 contingents to the said highlights of the flower festival.
Organizers appealed to the public to strictly adhere to the stringent rules and regulations in the conduct of both the grand streetdancing and grand float parades in the central business district area in order to prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that would pose a serious threat to life and limb.
By Dexter A. See
