Baguio in a frenzy for 19th flower fest

Workers have spent the week building new floats made of flowers for the 19th staging of the Grand Float Parade of the Baguio Flower Festival on Sunday, Feb. 23. Some of the participants spent as much as P1 million to build their floats. EV ESPIRITU/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – News television crews have set up their gear. Park workers race to install potted flowers around Session Road. Busloads of tourists have started to arrive in the summer capital to join this weekend’s Panagbenga (Baguio Flower Festival) street dancing and floral parade.

At the center of the 19th staging of the festival will be major roads in the downtown area where hundreds of dancing school children in colorful tribal costumes will display their wares on Saturday before thousands of spectators.

On Sunday, major roads will be closed for the grand float parade wherein native beauties and movie stars are expected to lend more color to the floral display.

Organizers began the festival on Feb. 1 with the Baguio Blooms (formerly the Market Encounter) and a landscaping display at Burnham Park.

Immediately after the floral parade, Session Road will close for a week to accommodate a street bazaar called Session Road in Bloom.

To brace for the major festival events, a group of Baguio residents launched a no-waste campaign, hoping to engage the cooperation of tourists who return to the summer capital each year for the festivities.

The group Baguio Citizens No Waste Initiative said it believed that tourists were aware of the city’s ongoing battle to manage its daily garbage.

The group is composed of “concerned Baguio City residents who realize the magnitude of the garbage problem in the city and want to address this through public information, lobbying and monitoring,” said Judy Cariño, the group’s coconvenor.

In a statement, the group said cooperation was “inevitable to ensure that everyone cleans up after the festival.”  “We, Baguio residents, take part in Panagbenga whether we like it or not,” it said.

Each time the festival is staged, 2,745 tons of garbage add to the 10,980 tons of wastes generated by Baguio residents each month, the group said.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the management of waste that builds up during the street dancing parade and the Grand Float Parade had been a concern since the event was launched in 1996.

The city government’s solution is to hire more street sweepers and garbage collectors for the monthlong festivities, he said.

Baguio Citizens No Waste Initiative said residents could help by reducing waste at home. Businesses should also avoid serving food or drinks using Styrofoam containers or plastic bags to help in the no-waste drive, the group said.

Parking has been another problem for Baguio during previous festivals but Councilor Elmer Datuin, chair of the council committee on tourism, said some schools in the city agreed to open their campuses to vehicles.

Tourists who drive up to Baguio are also being encouraged to leave their vehicles at their hotels or inns, and instead commute to ease the flow of traffic. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon