Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan says that the management of the Panagbenga Flower Festival should remain as a public-private partnership. In response to calls that the city government should take over, he said that the best option is still the partnership between the local government and the private sector.
Panagbenga Flower Festival – Best Managed By The City?
According to a Baguio Midland Courier report, councilor Elmer Datuin who heads the Tourism Committee, recently filed a resolution. This resolution seeks to revert the management of the festival to the city government.
This prompted Mayor Domogan to speak up and say that this proposal “must be discussed thoroughly.” It will be a major change in the way the Panagbenga has been organized throughout the years, he added. He also recalled the embarrassing events in 2006, when there were two festival celebrations. The previous year, the Baguio Flower Festival Association was established making the city government the lead agency for the festival. The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) however also had their own celebration.
Calls For Transparency
While Domogan prefers to retain the strong public-private partnership, he said that it must still adhere to the audit requirements set by the Commission on Audit. According to him, the COA has noted a lack of policy when it comes to the full accounting of funds and the lack of a Memorandum of Agreement between the city government and the BFFFI.
BFFFI on the other hand said they were willing to comply with the COA requirements, which means showing a detailed accounting of the income and expenses of the festival.
City Council Support For The Festival, Roads Closed On Panagbenga 2017
In the meantime, the city council continues to show its support for the festival. The council recently approved the closure of selected roads within the city for all activities related to the festival.
On February 25, South Drive from Military Cut-off Rotunda to Lower Session Road up until Magsaysay Avenue and Harrison Road will be closed from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the Grand Street Dancing Parade.
Upper Session Road from Military Cut-off down to Lower Session Road and Harrison Road will be closed at the same time on February 26 for the Float Parade.
Aside from the road closures, they also allowed the use of Melvin Jones Football Field and the Baguio Athletic Bowl for the “Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio” on February 12 and the awarding ceremonies for the festival on March 5.
To check the list of events for this year’s Panagbenga, click here.