BAGUIO CITY – Organizers of the 24th edition of Panagbenga, popularly known as the Baguio Flower Festival, have projected some P20 million for the staging of the eighteen traditional events lined up for the 38-day festivities in the city that runs from February 1 to March 10, 2019.
Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the Panagbenga Organizing Committee, said that the funds for the festivities will come from both the local government and the income to be derived from the income-generating activities lined up for the 24th edition of the flower festival.
He added a huge portion of the budget will be used to increase the subsidies the foundation is providing to the increasing number of landscapers participating in the annual landscaping competition and the cash prizes given to the winners of the various competitions to entice more participants in the different competitions categories of the flower festival.
For over a decade now, the local government has provided some P4 million annual subsidy to the foundation solely for the prizes of winners of the various competitions lined up for the flower festival.
BFFFI president Freddie Alquiros said a huge portion of the income derived by the foundation during last year’s 23rd edition of the Panagbenga will be plowed back to the community through various forms, particularly the increase in the cash prizes and subsidies for the winners and participants of the different competitions lined up next year.
He stated the increase in the subsidies of the participants in the landscaping competition and the cash prizes of the different winners will surely contribute to the efforts of the city government and the BFFFI to further increase the participation of the public in the various events of the flower festival.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said despite the minimal funds being used by the local government and the organisers in the staging of the flower festival, Panagbenga grew into its current magnitude and gained a status similar to well-known festivals in the different parts of the country such as the Sinulog festival of Cebu, Ati-atihan festival of Iloilo, among others, where organizers spend more than five times the fund being spent by the BFFFI for the annual flower festival.
He emphasized the combined efforts of the local government and the private sector in sustaining the growth of the flower festival paid off through the years, thus, the need to strengthening what was able to bring the festival to greater heights, particularly the fact that it is the only festival in the country to be included in the elite list of festivals in the world that form part of the International Festival Association.
The city chief executive expressed his gratitude to the stakeholders who continue to sacrifice their time, effort and resources in ensuring the success of the different activities of the flower festival as their contributions are immeasurable and could not be quantified in monetary terms in exchange for their unrelenting and uncompromising services.
By Dexter A. See
