Suggestions for a Better Panagbenga

I know that Panagbenga 2008 has just been concluded. But in order not to lose momentum, and especially since 2009 is Baguio Centennial Year, we should already plan for a better Panagbenga 2009 even now.

As one who has been in Baguio for all 13 Panagbengas, participated in the Baguio Flower Festival as judge, competitor and observer since the beginning (during my Halfway House by Alfredo’s days), I believe I have enough insight into this event to be able to make the following recommendations:

1. Have a permanent Panagbenga Secretariat, on payroll, that will start working on the next Baguio Flower Festival starting June 2008 at the very latest. Two or three persons should be able to do the job, and get student volunteers (about 200) for when things start to heat up a few months before.

Why students? If we professionalize the planning of the Panagbenga, they can be taught organizational skills that will come in very handy when they enter the work force. It can also become a training ground for future Baguio Flower Festival handlers. The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation (BFFFI), since it has been incorporated, can be an accredited entity where management, marketing, mass communications and other students can avail of their practicum requirements, too.

2. The Panagbenga Secretariat can be tasked also with monitoring the Barangay pocket gardens year round using digital cameras to help in the judging of winners.

This competition was designed from the beginning, during Atty. Bangaoet’s time, to green Baguio on the barangay level, for the city to have as many parks as we have barangays. The gardens were supposed to be maintained year-round by our 129 barangays and not judged only every February.

3. Determine who will run Panagbenga 2009 and have turnover ceremonies at the close of the event, so we (and the sponsors) know who to approach for next year.

Whenever we at the Hotel and Restaurarant Association of the Philippines (HRAP) would mount Chefs on Parade, the next year’s Chairman would be announced at the close of the event for continuity.

4. Release Panagbenga 2009 Schedule of Activities by November 2008.

Panagbenga 2008’s Tentative Schedule of Activities three (3) weeks before the opening ceremonies should never happen again.

5. Have the Parade on two weekends instead of just one, to attract more visitors to our city. The parade can be held on a Saturday morning so guests will arrive by Friday. My suggestion would be to hold it on the EDSA Revolution weekend and the one before that.

I know that the parades have always been timed for the February 25 long weekend, that relies on the President of the Philippines declaring it a special holiday, which did not happen in 2007. So might as well have a schedule independent of the sitting President’s fears of another EDSA uprising on the occasion of the anniversary.

You may complain that this will disrupt Session Road businesses, but come on, banks are closed on Saturdays, the restaurants make more money when you drive so many warm bodies to the area.

It should be held on a Saturday instead of a Sunday so visitors will be here by Friday night and still have time to go shopping for pasalubongs on Sunday morning at the Baguio City Market.

6. If we can manage to hold more than 2 parades, even better!

The first can be the opening parade, then the streetdancing parade, then the float parade, then the closing parade. Ok, this requires massive logistics, but hey, I can always dream, can’t I?

7. The Parades can start from the old Camp John Hay Main Gate (Upper Session Road/Loakan), like they used to in the beginning so that folks can all watch.

Folks get turned off when they cannot get a good view, or when there are too many persons deep, so they prefer to stay home and watch it on TV. Watching the Panagbenga on TV in Baguio should never happen. The TV coverage should be for folks who are not in the city.

8. For purposes of the Panagbenga, zero cars must enter the number coding restricted area. Make provisions for parking and parking attendants at the fringes.

9. Consider including the colors of the Cordilleras, too. I remember seeing photos of Igorot Olympics with Sammy Ayochok and Bong Cawed wrestling. I know they hurl boulders and spears instead of shotput and javelins, and the like.

Honestly, if Baguio can no longer be Little America, I feel it should be more Igorot Village than ‘Pangasinan-town.’ The buildings that are being put up here, including some hotels, certainly look like the public market building in certain lowland provinces, with generic architecture, that does not enhance Baguio’s natural beauty.

And come on, we can even have a “Best in Bahag” competition. even for visitors, if they like. That should be fun, and should get folks working all year round to be physically fit and worthy of the attire!

10. In years past, Baguio civic organizations were more than willing to sponsor balls, sports groups wanted competitions. The Panagbenga organizers can accept applications early to determine which ones will be included in the official calendar of activities.

Heck, if this year’s Panagbenga can include such an event such as a Mr. and Ms. Fashionista, we might as well have the Panagbenga Badminton Tournament.

We must determine which are Panagbenga-accredited events, and which ones are merely being held on the occasion of the Panagbenga.

11. Since the Panagbenga involves so much expense on the part of the Baguio residents, who SPEND to rehearse, costume up, float up and the like, I think an accounting of the Panagbenga monies would be in order. Because entry fees are pretty exorbitant and the Baguio folk give up so much of their personal time and effort to participate that, if there is a way to make it more affordable to join, I am sure more folks would prefer that.

Let’s face it, the participants shell out time and money big time! There should be some subsidy for start-up costs, maybe. This can come from sponsorships if we plan the event well.

Added 1/18/2009: In 2008 we saw the Jollibee mascot being the main feature in one of the street dancing competitions because the school was sponsored by the fast food chain. As I was reviewing the still photos, I started to laugh and cry hysterically as my personal slideshow showed him emerging in a ta-da! fashion amid the costumed students.

12. Include a small float parade so the creativity of the people can be showcased as before. That is pretty charming, you know.

Of course the big floats are impressive — and expensive! Which is why they are treated as a marketing expense by the big companies. That’s why they have logos included in the floats. There was a time logos were not permitted, if I remember right.

So if another category were set up, for small organizations to be able to participate and compete amongst themselves, without getting swallowed up by the big guns, then maybe more Baguio folk will join the float parade instead of being mere spectators.

13. Give the Baguio artists special focus. It would be great to position Baguio as the Cordillera Center for the Arts, if nothing else. This means not just visual art but performing arts, too.

The Panagbenga should be very visual and very sensory, too. The photo exhibit at SM city under the escalators in the parking basement did not get the attention it deserved.

14. The Panagbenga should be PARTY not PALENGKE. Session Road in Bloom should be a Food Fest, if not create a food festival elsewhere. The reason folks find that there’s not much between Market Encounter and Session Road in Bloom is because they BOTH sell similar retail items and similar food.

In Tomas Morato, our original street festivals involved food, music and some dry goods, too. All of them themed. In recent years, of course sponsors have demanded more and more control over the events of the night, but the classiness of the affair is always determined by the organizers.

16. Consider hiring a professional events organizer for this purpose. Their fee is usually a percentage of the sponsors THEY get. They can always work with and within the parameters set by the Panagbenga organizers. This can also address the concern of sponsor fatigue.

You see, sponsors know you need them and their money. Every year they demand more exposure because they know the festival’s reliance on them. Sometimes, they get tired of the same old thing. Sometimes the people get tired of the same old thing. This may be a refreshing solution.

17. Finally, some ‘visioning’ is in order, I believe. In the beginning, the Panagbenga was created so we could have a nice ‘fiesta’ during what used to be ‘perfect weather month.’ The essential components of Baguio were showcased — including the Pony Boys. It had institutional aspects built it, like the Barangay Garden contest, or the Business Decoration Competition. ALL OF BAGUIO WAS IN BLOOM!

Of course some events are sponsor-rich, like the Parades. But the Panagbenga should not be parceled off piecemeal. It should be taken altogether. If the parades are the only focus, we only get parade visitors on one weekend. There should be reason for everyone to come up for the length of the festival.

What has happened is that it has been stretched from a 10-day to a month long festival, where a whole lot of time and effort is spent to keep it going. So if we assess now, to find why we do this (and if the answer is to make money ONLY, let me tell you that the Panagbenga is doomed to lose its luster through the years), and how best to do it so we do not unnecessarily stretch out the resources of Baguio residents and visitors.

An organizer asked many a time before: Why don’t folks just volunteer instead of criticizing? I think the answer to that is that it’s easy for folks to volunteer for something they BELIEVE in, for something that benefits them even indirectly, if they know that their efforts will be appreciated, if they know they are working for something good and not just for someone’s personal pecuniary interests.

The money part will always be there as far as the Panagbenga is concerned, but it should not be the driving force behind the Panagbenga. The income is only a CONSEQUENCE of the whole festival.

I was told that this year, many refused to participate when they kept hearing the question: “How do we make money out of this (activity)?” and all the organizations wanted to do was participate without being paid.

I realize now that my old call to bring back Atty. Bangaoet to take full control of his festival is not the only answer anymore.

Baguio has to find the answers by itself to this question: How do we showcase the Best of Baguio during the Baguio Flower Festival?

And we might even find the answer to this: how do we make Baguio BLOOM all year round?

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