Official says Panagbenga ‘successful return’ to hasten Baguio’s economic recovery

City administrator Bonifacio dela Pena congratulated the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) on the successful conduct of the just concluded Baguio Flower Festival or ‘Panagbenga’ (Season of Blossoming) after an absence of three years due to the ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The BFFI is led by former Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Baguio Country Club manager Anthony De Leon.

In Monday’s flag-raising rites at City Hall, March 6, he said participation in the activities of the month-long event especially in its street dancing and float parades were “very successful” as the Summer Capital is already preparing and looking forward to an even larger celebration next year.

“This year’s Panagbenga festival started well and also ended very, very well,” Dela Pena stressed.

He admitted that although the city’s projection of 1.5 million visitors to this year’s Flower festival was not met, the annual extravaganza’s return is “already a good start” since it has helped in hastening the recovery of hotels and other accommodation establishments that were among the most affected by the pandemic.

As for the local economy as a whole, the city administrator said that Mayor Benjamin Magalong is expecting its full recovery in about five years spearheaded by tourism since it is one of Baguio’s top industries.

“Rest assured, however, that we in the city government are doing all we can in hopefully achieving the full recovery of our economy in less than five years,” Dela Pena said.

Since last year, the city government has started to undertake around 51 ‘catalytic’ projects in its bid to advance the city’s socio-economic development and environmental renaissance. – Gaby B. Keith