By Katrina Gracia Consebido
Baguio City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña lauded the organizers of the Baguio Flower Festival or Panagbenga after its successful return from its three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFI) organized the said event led by former Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Baguio Country Club Manager Anthony De Leon.
Dela Peña said the month-long event’s street dancing and float parades were “very successful” and that the Summer Capital is already planning a bigger celebration in 2024.
“This year’s Panagbenga Festival started well and also ended very, very well,” Dela Peña said.
He said that while the city’s 1.5 million-visitor projection for this year’s Flower Festival was not met, the annual extravaganza’s return is “already a good start” because it helped hotels and other accommodation establishments to recover from the pandemic.
“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. – gb
