VP Binay to grace Lubuagan Laga Fest launching
by Gigi Dumallig
LUBUAGAN, Kalinga, Feb.28 (PIA) – – Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay will be the guest of honor during the launching of the Lubuagan Laga Festival to be held at Poblacion, Lubuagan on March 5.
With the theme “Laga-on tako cha bibyun kopyan chi mataguwan” (Weaving our rich culture for economic development), the three-day event is set to run from March 5 to 7 highlighting the municipality’s culture, performing arts and major products.
A cultural grand parade will open the activities on March 5 dubbed as “Cultural Day,” followed by a program with Binay and Kalinga Governor Jocel Baac as guests of honor.
This day will also mark the opening of the event’s agro-industrial fair with the VP leading the ribbon cutting followed by a conference of regional, provincial, and local officials with the Vice President.
The afternoon events will be highlighted with the Salidummay and Laga Entertainment at the Eco-tourism and Cultural Center, and in the evening the town will hold its Search for Miss Laga 2011 coupled with a Laga Fashion Show presented by local designers.
The President General Aguinaldo Day on March 6 will start with a grand civic parade with Kalinga supervisor Alfredo Budaden of Department of Education as guest of honor. The day’s events also include the schools’ field presentations and Indigenous Literary Musical performances.
March 7 will be the Agro-Industrial Fair Day highlighted by the Indigenous Agri Contest that includes the indigenous competitions on Best Coffee Pounder, Best Palay Pounder, Fastest Coffee Drinker, and various Kalinga indigenous games. Kalinga provincial agriculturist Gerardo Jose will grace the day’s events. *(PIA CAR, Kalinga)
Religious sect holds “lechon” festival
by Ben Moses Ebreo
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya (September3) — A religious sect here on Wednesday opened their annual “Lechon” festival in barangay Bonfal East here.
Jose “Tal” de Guia, 40 and leader of the religious sect “Vucal na Pananampalataya Teyac na Paniniwala” said the Lechon Festival was conceptualized to commemorate the 79th birthday of his deceased father Cuoya Dominador “Doming” de Guia who led the sect from 1967 to 2005.
Now on its 4th year, the festival was attended by hundreds of sect members, politicians, government officials, businessmen and other supporters and friends of the sect in Senora Falls, a mini-resort developed by the sect members and touted as a hidden paradise.
Some 40 pigs were manually grilled and chopped by the sect members and shared among visitors scattered in various cottages overlooking the Senora falls. Other visitors also took the opportunity to enjoy the waterfalls.
The first lechon festival started with 15 pigs, 51 during the second and 61 pigs on the third lechon festival.
The pigs which were grilled during this year’s festival, De Guia said were produced by the sect members while others came from donors and friends.
De Guia said the lechon festival was also conceptualized to invite the public to know more about the sect’s learnings and their practices.
“This is our way to open up our community to the public, promote friendship and camaraderie and to thank the Almighty for all his blessings,” he said.
In previous years, the sect has been branded as a cult and criticized for banning entry of non-members in their community.
Politicians however visit the community and offer donations in the hope of getting support during elections.
De Guia said they hoped that the festival will open up a positive understanding on the sect and to correct the bad impression on their existence among non-members.
The Senora water falls is a 500 hectare mountain which was awarded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to the sect in 1976.
Some 1,000 members of the sect have settled within the Senora falls watershed where members venture into agriculture as a means of livelihood.
“We are now practicing a ‘no tree cutting’ policy to protect and preserve this area which has become our source of livelihood,” De Guia said. (PIA NVizcaya)
Baguio City launches Panagbenga 2010
by Lito Dar
Panagbenga 2010, the 15th staging of the Baguio Flower Festival, adopts the theme: “Celebrating 15 years of Festival Excellence.”
In his message, Baguio Congressman Mauricio Domogan stressed that the “Panagbenga” should be included in the annals of the city’s centennial history.
According to Domogan, the whole of Baguio should be enjoined in celebrating such tourism activity as it is an opportunity for all, regardless of color, tribal group or religion, to work together in promoting the city and Cordillera’s cultural identity. This is not only to sustain the city’s tourism industry, but also for the visitors and our own happiness as well, he said.
“It is also gives us the time to thank the Lord for giving us a beautiful environment, with all the trees and flowers. It is also a time to remind us of our own obligation to maintain and preserve such environment, so as to avoid the serious consequences of climate change,” Domogan added.
Confetti rained and balloons were released as Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr proclaimed the declaration of the Opening of the Panagbenga 2010. This was done simultaneous with the unveiling of the 15th Flower Festival banner, by the festival’s co-chairmen, Baguio Country Club General Manager Anthony De Leon and Camp John Hay Chief Operations Officer Freddie Alquiroz. The University of Cordillera also gave a performance as the Philippine Military Academy Band played the Panagbenga Hymn.
In a press conference, Alquiroz, assured the public of a grander staging of Panagbenga, that would equal if not surpass the Panagbenga 2009. He also highlighted the media’s important role on promoting the festival, so as the city’s tourism industry, could have a faster turnaround from the adverse effect of the recent disasters that hit the region.
“Through the media’s help, we can push forward the message that Baguio is here, up and about and never went out of business,” Alquiroz said.
De Leon bared that there will be new activities for the Panagbenga 2010, which will run from February 1 to March 7. Among these are new musical concert on the lake titled “Camelot,” during the staging of the Fluvial Parade at the Burnham Park Lake on February 14, and the staging of a “Mardi Gras,” at the Harrison road, in time with the Session Road in Bloom on March 1-7.
Other regular scheduled activities for the flower festival include Market Encounter at the Burnham Park (Feb. 1 – March 7), Legarda Rocks (February 12-14), Abanao Nights (Feb 26-28), Pony Boys Day (March 6), plus the usual highlights of the Panagbenga: a Grand Street parade on February 27 and a Grand Float Parade on February 28. The Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration (Feb.13) and the PMA Homecoming (Feb. 20 – 22), are also entwined with the Pangabenga 2010.
Meantime, Department of Tourism (DOT-CAR) Regional Director Pura Molintas also stressed the importance of sustaining the Panagbenga, which is a major tourist festival that has already gained an international stature. She said this is a major economic activity that plays a major role not only in boosting the city and the region’s tourism but also the country’s development as well. (PIA)
Feature: Discovering the Ibanags
by Oliver T. Baccay
Tuguegarao City (18 August) — “Simple but meaningful”…this is how visitors described this year’s Pavvurulun Festival in the celebration and preservation of the Ibanag culture, and discovering the talented Tuguegaraoenos.
Hon. Delfin Telan Ting, City Mayor, spearheaded the celebration highlighting the unity of the Ibanags in working against difficulties and obstacles in achieving growth and development.
Tuguegarao City is known as the Premier Ibanag City, the center of excellence in education, commerce and culture in Northeast Philippines, that’s why every patronal fiesta, the city officials used to line up activities that showcases the Ibanag tradition and culture such as the Street dancing in the tune of Ibanag courtship dance’Kalingkingan’, the Battle of the Bands in the tune of Sampaguita March, the original Ibanag children’s game, the folksong writing competition and performing the traditional Maskota wedding dance.
In the midst of a sunny day, the students played their role gracefully with a smile and with feelings in the street dancing competition. Kalingkingan is a kind of bird that thrives in the Callao Caves of Peñablanca, the town adjacent to the city and the cavers’ paradise of the north.
Kalingkingan birds go out from the cave every 6 o’clock in the evening to look for food and to have merry making, and then goes back every 6 o’clock in the morning to take a rest.
The Kalingkingan dance was formulated by the Ibanag ancestors, converting the birds’ nature and characteristics to an Ibanag culture. The birds’ characteristic of going out every 6 to look for food is like an Ibanag gentleman who looks for a lady to court every night. Their characteristics also of looking for food together and goes back together from the cave where they came from is attributed to the Ibanags togetherness, which is the essence of’Pavvurulun Festival’-oneness. Later, it was transformed to a song and dance.
Though the dance is an original festival of Peñablnaca, the city wants to showcase it also because the essence of the dance jived to the city’ festival theme of reminiscing and reviving the Ibanag Culture.
City Vice-Mayor Danilo Baccay said the street dance competition highlighting the Kalingkingan Ibanag dance is one way of reviving and preserving the Ibanag tradition and culture.
On the other hand, the students also displayed their talents in playing the instruments in the Battle of the Bands competition using the’Sampaguita March’ as the common tune of the bands.
The competitors displayed their strategies and styles in playing the bands using their colorful uniforms, but the judges chose only 3 winners in the competition.
Schoolchildren also enjoyed playing the original’Gaggayam na Cagayan’ or the children’s game that preserves the Ibanag culture.
In all activities which was conducted, it depicts on how the Ibanags live a simple life, on how do they work together to achieve progress, on how they preserve their hospitality.
Vice Mayor Danilo Baccay said it is being observed that nowadays, the new generation doesn’t know how to speak in Ibanag that’s why they are now planning to pass a resolution mandating the schools teach Ibanag dialect to schoolchildren.
The hospitality of the Ibanags was also one among the limelight of the festival. With the’Pancit Batil Patung’, the specialty of Tuguegarao, visitors really felt the real Ibanag taste as they were warm welcomed with the delicious ‘pancit batil patung’.
In the mass wedding, several couples were given blessings to tie a knot in a traditional way the Ibanag celebrate wedding. The Maskota Dance is always practiced, the real Ibanag wedding celebration.
“The true essence of this festival is the celebration of our original tradition and culture, our act of showing that we are proud of being an Ibanag,” Baccay said in an interview. (PIA 2)
Tuguegarao City celebrates Pav-vurulun Festival 2009
Tuguegarao City (10 August) — The City government here in celebration of 2009 City Fiesta, has lined up various activities to showcase the city’s goals and objectives.
Among the major activities is the 2009 Pav-vurulun Trade Fair on August 10–16, 2009.
The Trade Fair aims to promote the emerging entrepreneurs from the livelihood projects of the city and to exhibit the different products of local producers.
There for this year’s trade fair is “Kultura Ibanag” and this will be opened to the public on August 10, at the Paseo Reale Grounds, Tuguegarao City.
Other highlights of the celebration on August 10-14 include distribution of PhilHealth cards to indigent families; pancit festival; healthy lifestyle exercises and food technology demonstration; a variety show, business management seminar and the battle of the bands.
On August 15, there will be street dancing, mass wedding, games for children, and a cultural show with the “maskota” dance competition. (PIA 2)
Kalinga IPs join Luzon cultural festival
Tabuk, Kalinga (22 November) — Twenty performers from the province joined recently the Timpuyog Cultural Festival of Luzon, an occasion for indigenous peoples (IPs) in Luzon to celebrate the richness of their unique culture and an opportunity to exchange what they have for better understanding among themselves, held recently in Santiago City, Isabela.
According to National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Commissioner Domingo Bakilan, the festival also served to foster deeper understanding and
an avenue to preserve the culture of peace among IPs in Luzon. He said the province’s representatives came from Tanudan headed by Cultural Master Vicente Gummuang.
Various students from colleges and universities in Region 2 came to watch the historic affair as part of cultural awareness and for them to appreciate the diverse Filipino cultures still practiced today.
Bakilan said sixteen major cultural communities gathered for the celebration that promoted the advocacy of preserving and integrating traditional culture and various creative expressions in mainstream society.
Heherzon Alvarez, Presidential Adviser on Climate Change and Global Warming who was Guest Speaker stressed on the importance of culture as a way of life, according to Bakilan. In his message, Alvarez told participants to be proud to be Filipino even if they belong to different cultural communities with diverse culture.
NCCA Chairman of the Board and Department of Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador encouraged the IPs not to allow themselves to be exploited. She directed school administrators in Luzon to stop teaching modern dances to their pupils and students but teach them instead the traditional and cultural dances in the locality.
The six-day celebration according to Bakilan is a project of Sub-Commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts of NCCA hosted by the City government of Santiago. (PIA-Kalinga)
photo credit: glenmcbethlaw
