BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) is studying possible alternatives that will be put in place once there will be early rains during the streetdancing and float parades on February 25 and 26, respectively, which are the major highlights of the 22nd edition of the Panagbenga to guarantee that residents and visitors will enjoy the conduct of the twin events.
While forecasts for February 25 and 26 will likely rain in the afternoon, the local chief executive claimed the organizers will meet anytime to assess the situation and make the necessary adjustments to allow the people to witness the sterling performances of the streetdancers and the flower-decorated floats that will be performed and displayed on the said dates.
“We are ready to make the adjustments but we will to maintain the original schedule for the benefit of our constituents and the expected influx of foreign and domestic tourists. We have to keep our fingers crossed that it will not rain during the staging of the highlights of the festival so that the public will enjoy their visit to the city during the highlights of the festival,” Domogan stressed.
Initially, the six streetdancing contingents which were not able to perform during the elimination round will be in the frontline of the grand streetdancig parade and as soon as they will be in the Baguio Athletic Bowl, the contingents will be performing their prepared pieces for the judges to come out with the 9 finalists.
According to him, there is a need for the organizers to minimize the speeches during the program so that all the streetdancing contingents will be able to perform before lunch to avoid their performances from being rained out in case there will be early afternoon rains.
He said there is a need for the organizers to seriously assess and evaluate the situation to allow the successful staging of the grand streetdancing and grand float parades even if there will be early afternoon rains during the highlights of the flower festival, saying that adjustments should be made because the city is now feeling the serious negative effects of climate change.
Except for once in the history of the staging of the Panagbenga where it rained during the conduct of the grand streetdancing parade, the mayor remains optimistic that it will not rain during the staging of the two major events of the festival so that the people will enjoy the performances of the streetdancers and appreciate the beauty of the flower-decorated floats that will be paraded along the city’s major streets.
Domogan extended the invitation to the residents and visitors to go out on February 25 and 26 to be able to witness bigger attendance and better performances during the highlights of the flower festival which was able to grow into one of the preferred festivals in the country to date.
The grand streetdancing parade will end up at the Baguio Athletic Bowl while the grand float parade will commence at the Melvin Jones grandstand passing through the Ganza parking area similar to what happened last year.
By Dexter A. See
