BESAO, Mountain Province – Pugo Mayor Priscilla Marrero-Martin proposed to the municipal government here for the twinning of both fifth-class municipalities to allow their mutual growth and development.
Martin, who served as the guest of honor and speaker during the town’s 113th founding anniversary and 9th Ubaya festival Wednesday, said Pugo and Besao have a number of similarities which could be used to their advantage in their upcoming sisterhood ties so that they will have the privilege of sharing their available resources, best practices, among others that will lead to the advancement of the two municipalities in the future.
“We will grow us one through our combined efforts. We have to extend the needed assistance to each other for us to move on to greater heights,” Martin stressed in her message.
She pointed out the peoples of Pugo and Besao have many things in common: rich history, culture, and traditions, sources of livelihood among others, which could be the start of working together.
Pugo has been one of the areas in the lowlands where people in the highlands have migrated and found their sources of livelihood.
Mayor Martin claimed her family had no difficulty in adjusting to the situation in the municipality because most of the people in the place are our kakailyans, thus, they were able to bond together and are now trying their very best to bring Pugo to greater heights.
“We are elated to see the active participation of the people of Besao in the conduct of your Ubaya festival. We firmly believe that you will be able to sustain the growth of the festival through the engagement of people from other parts of the country and the global village who trace their roots and have inter-marriages from Besao,” Martin added.
According to her, the theme of the Ubaya festival, “Recollecting History through Culture, Working Together for Change and Development,” comes at a very opportune time where the present generations have to sustain the preservation of our culture and traditions by being able to successfully pass them on to the younger generations who must learn to treasure the same.
“Let us not allow our culture to slowly fade away with the fast changing times because it serves as our distinct identity as indigenous peoples. Let us instead value our culture by passing it on to our younger generations and for our youth to take time in learning and understanding the importance of our rich culture and traditions to what we are now,” she said.
Martin gave emphasis to Pugo’s successful staging of the first Tinungbo festival last month and the achievement of the Pugo Catholic School that grabbed the limelight in the grand streetdancing parade of the Panagbenga festival in Baguio City where it emerged as champion in the open category, which could also be accomplished by the people of Besao through their teamwork and unity.
Martin said change and development are inevitable but let us not allow our rich culture and traditions to undergo a change that might eventually result in the extinction of the practices that our forefathers have preserved and protected and passed on to us.
“Let us continue to be proud of what we have gone through,” she exhorted.
By HENT
