BAGUIO CITY – Some beauty queens, celebrities, government officials, local and national politicians stole the show in the recently conducted grand floral float parade of the 29th edition of the Panagbenga held along the major streets of the country’s undisputed Summer Capital as they received cheers from thousands of residents and visitors who were gathered along the parade route awaiting for what was in store for this year’s participating floats.
As early as 2 am Sunday, visitors started to converge in strategic areas along the parade route from Upper Session Road up to the Melvin Jones football field for them to be able to get a clear vantage point of the 44 floats that paraded along the major city’s streets from 8 am up to 11 am before being displayed for the whole afternoon at the open field for photo opportunities. Some of the delegates to various regional and national conferences that were conducted in the city opted to stay for the weekend to witness the twin highlights of the flower festival, particularly the grand street dancing parade held last Saturday and the grand float parade that was held Sunday morning.
However, the 44 beautifully decorated and landscaped small, medium and large floats shared the limelight with beauty queens who rode their respective floats, namely, Miss World 2024 and local beauty queen Krishna Gravidez, who rode the float of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur; Miss Universe 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez and Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados, who rode the Mr. Wong’s float.
The star-studded grand float parade was also graced by Lovie Poe, who rode the SCD float; the cast of Home Along da Riles led by Smokey Manaloto, Claudine Barreto, Nova Villa and Vandolph Kevin also presented the float of the said television show; Cristine Reyes, Makoy de Leon of Batang Quiapo, Ela Cruz of the movie Made in Malacan֮ang, among others, who rode the float of Ilocos Norte with Senator Imee Marcos and Joey Marquez who rode the float of the State-owned Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) promoting the tourist destinations in the Zamboanga Peninsula, together with TIEZA chief executive officer Mark Lapid, son of Senator Lito Lapid.
Aside from the city officials who joined the twin parades, famous government officials who were sighted in their floats were Chairman George Garcia of the Commission on Election (Comelec) who rode the poll body’s own float promoting a safe and free elections during the upcoming May 12, 2025 mid-term elections while local sports talent and the first Filipino female world Muay Thai champion Islay Erica Bomogao rode the float of the Department of Tourism, one of the non-competing floats that promoted the tourist destinations around the country and its tag line ‘Love the Philippines.’
The staging of this year’s flower festival highlights showcased the city’s artistry, history, rich culture and resilience that saw a wide array of how the city’ stories were told through the well arranged flowers on the floats.
The active participation of the delegations from the international and local sister cities of Baguio also highlighted this year’s theme of “Booming Beyond Boundaries.’
The float of the Baguio City government depicted the said theme by paying tribute to its international sister cities, incorporating symbolic flowers from Texas, California, Hawaii, Korea, Japan, China, and Canada.
Subsequently, the tourism department’s float showed the heritage and landscapes of the Cordilleras, featuring rice terraces, native huts, and a strong push for sustainable tourism.
Two Hall of Famers continued to be part of the annual celebration of the Panagbenga with their thematic presentations where the Baguio Country Club displayed two floats: one with a Shogun-era Japan theme, complete with cherry blossoms and a Torii gate, and another celebrating its 120th anniversary, featuring a tribute to its 1905 origins.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. sustained its support to the festival with a cornucopia-inspired float, symbolizing abundance and growth, probably a subtle hint on their ever-expanding developments.
For its part, the Paragon Suites, a non-competing float, rolled out a Batmobile-inspired float, complete with a 10-foot papier-mâché Batman.
While Tau Gamma Phi featured full Super Mario, featuring Rafflesia flowers, which, like the famous plumber, bloom in unexpected places.
Each of the participating floats were decorated with a variety of flowers such as chrysanthemum, roses, lilies, among others where most of the said flowers had been produced in the various flower farms in Baguio and nearby Benguet towns such as La Trinidad, Tuba and Sablan. By Dexter A. See
