ANNUAL CELEBRATION | The “Araña at Baluarte” Festival in Gumaca, Quezon, held on Monday, May 15, 2023, is famous for its bamboo-arch chandeliers (“aranya”) filled with vegetables, fruits and other farm products. (Photo from the Gumaca Municipal Government)
LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — Four major festivals were celebrated simultaneously in different localities of Quezon on Monday amid an uptick in the number of active COVID-19 cases in the province.
The four crowd-drawing annual festivals — “Pahiyas” in Lucban town, “Agawan” in Sariaya, “Mayohan” in Tayabas City, and “Araña’t Baluarte” in Gumaca — were held on the feast of San Isidro de Labrador as a tribute to the patron saint of peasants.
Malacañang had declared May 15 a special nonworking day in Lucban and Gumaca towns to mark their celebrations. The local governments of Tayabas City and Sariaya had also declared their respective events as local holidays.
The festivities, the first time these were held with large crowds since the pandemic struck in 2020, were celebrated just as the number of new COVID-19 cases in the province jumped to 155 as of Sunday, from only one case on April 1.
However, only 38 of the total COVID-19 infections required hospitalization, with only one patient listed as “severe and critical,” according to the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).
The IPHO said 29 of the 41 municipalities in the province have active virus carriers, topped by Tayabas City with 21 cases, followed by Sariaya with 18 and Lucena City with 15. Gumaca has seven active cases while Lucban listed only three.
The IPHO had recorded 273 new COVID-19 cases and three fatalities since January this year. The rise in cases was sharp, as the province logged only 76 new infections last month, 13 in March, 15 in February, and 92 in January.
Festivities
The Pahiyas Festival in Lucban is popular for its display of multicolored “kiping” and fresh farm harvest in every house.
Native bags and “longganisa” (sausage), the people’s main sources of livelihood, are also displayed in these houses.
The Department of Tourism had promoted Pahiyas as a must-see event for tourists, owing to Lucban’s rich culture and history.
In Sariaya, the Agawan features “bagakay” (young bamboo branches) filled with hanging bread, cookies, and fresh farm products, ready for riotous grabbing by townsfolk after the procession of San Isidro passes by.
The Mayohan in Tayabas City has long been famous for bundles of “suman” (rice cakes) and other farm produce thrown to the waiting arms of revelers as an expression of gratitude for the bountiful harvest.
In Gumaca, the Araña’t Baluarte Festival is known for the bamboo arch (“baluarte”) on major street corners, where exquisitely designed chandeliers (“aranya”) filled with vegetables, fruits, and other farm products are displayed.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the staging of the festivals was canceled due to restrictions on large gatherings.
Last year, the four local governments staged the events but with some precautionary measures as COVID-19 was still classified as a threat, particularly in crowded places.
This year, the four towns started staging their respective festivals last week with the addition of other events to attract more tourists.
Complacent
Two local medical doctors in private practice attributed the rise to the complacent attitude of the public toward COVID-19.
“The precautions and safety measures are gone. We’re back to pre-COVID attitudes,” one of them said.
The other one observed that the isolation of symptomatic individuals was no longer being observed.
“No [reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] testing is being done unless the patients themselves requested for it,” the doctor said.
Both of them suggested the return of strict COVID-19 safety protocols particularly in crowded public places such as shopping malls.
The two doctors requested anonymity out of courtesy to local government doctors.
Dr. Ariel Valencia, head of the Department of Health-Calabarzon, encouraged the public again to adhere to the minimum public health standards, including wearing face masks, observing physical distancing, and washing hands, despite the lifting of the global health emergency declaration for COVID-19.