Vacation capital goes abloom anew

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – This resort city went abloom again yesterday as elementary and high school students, in flower-inspired costumes, sashayed on the streets for the 16th year staging of the Panagbenga or Flower Festival.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists from as far as Bicol lined the main thoroughfares early yesterday morning to witness one of the country’s much-awaited festivals.

“It is one of the country’s biggest festivals,” Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said. “It is bigger than what I imagined.”

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was the guest of honor. “I came here both as a native son of Baguio and as a Speaker,” he told the crowd at the Baguio Athletic Bowl where street dancers showcased their skills.

Belmonte traced his roots to this city. His father, Feliciano Sr., was a prosecutor in Mt. Province in 1946.  

“Even after 30 years, we would always come back to Baguio,” he said.

Lim said the government is now more keen on promoting domestic tourism, which generated more income than from foreign tourists.

“We are reviving the ‘Magbyahe na’ concept,” Lim said, tagging “Pilipinas Tara Na” as the department’s new tourism plan.

Lim said Panagbenga’s return to the city’s Cordillera roots was remarkable with the tourism department’s promotion of cultural heritage as the country’s distinct offering.  

“It is what visitors want to see,” Lim said, “the distinctness of culture.”