By Pamela Mariz Geminiano/PNA
BAGUIO CITY — Malacañang has declared Nov. 23 a special non-working holiday in Benguet Province to celebrate the 118th foundation day of the country’s top vegetable-producing province.
“It is but fitting and proper that the people of the Province of Benguet be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” Proclamation 617, issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, stated.
Benguet’s celebration is set to include in the festivities the Small-Scale Mining and Land Congress, a summit of the province’s micro, small, and medium enterprises, an agro-tourism fair, and an environmental forum.
The celebration is month-long, which started last Nov. 5 until Dec. 9 this year, with more than 60 activities lined up.
The provincial government, however, has decided to make the commemoration simple to condole with the victims of the landslide tragedy when Typhoon Ompong hit Northern Luzon in September.
Benguet’s foundation day celebration this year has the theme “Benguet Culture — Unity, Industry, Prosperity: Managing Adversaries with Excellence through Enhanced Indigenous Resilience.”
It will feature the rich history, traditions, arts, music, culture, sports, and trades and industries of the province.
For the big day on Nov. 23, the provincial government has set a simple program, with the signing of a sisterhood agreement with the Ha Giang province of Vietnam and the 2018 awarding and recognition of Benguet locals, who have made the province known in the country and abroad.
On the 30th, the Benguet folks will do the “pamakan,” a native ritual done with the butchering of animals the traditional way, as an offering to “Kabunyan” (mountain god) and to the ancestors, for guidance and to spare the province from any more harm and to give the families of the calamity victims spiritual strength.
The butchered animals will then be shared among the locals and guests, as part of the Benguet people’s culture.
