BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Tribu Siglat-Tinungbo Festival of Pugo, La Union won the Festival Dance category, while the Mabini Elementary School Drum and Lyre Corps topped the Elementary Drum and Lyre category, after the showdown competition of the grand street dancing competition of the 30th Panagbenga Festival held at the Melvin Jones Football ground, Baguio City, on February 28. Apart from the performance of the Tribu Siglat, the audience was also impressed by the participation of a female short stature dancer who did not lag behind in her energetic performance in the street dancing parade and showdown competition. Their dance performance showcased the rich culture of the Bago Tribe through traditional dances such as Manmanok, Sadong, and Tadek, accompanied by gongs and bamboo instruments—elements that reflect their origins and beliefs. Aside from their colorful traditions, an important part of their lives is farming and fishing, known as Panagkammel. Their livelihood is based on agriculture—growing rice, vegetables, and other crops—as well as the abundant natural resources of their environment. Panagkammel is not only a livelihood but also a symbol of their hard work, cooperation, and deep connection with nature and they also maintain customs such as Tinungbo, cooking food inside bamboo, which shows their creativity and environmentalism. Tribu Siglat will receive a P200,000 cash prize as 1st place; Tribu Kanluran Jones, of Jones, Isabela, 2nd place, with a prize of P100,000 and Tribu Balitok a Pagey, of Malasiqui, Pangasinan, 3rd Place with a prize of P70,000. Mabini Elementary School Drum and Lyre Corps won 1st Place in the Elementary Drum and Lyre category, with a prize of P150,000; second place went to El Tribu d Lucban, of Lucan Elementary School with a prize of P100,000 and third place went to Tuba Central School, Tuba, Benguet with a prize of P70,000. Aside from the cash prizes received, the participants will be given P100,000 each as a subsidiary for their participation in the competition. (By Zaldy Comanda)  

BAGUIO CITY – A midget woman wowed the audience with her energetic performance during the grand street dancing competition of the grand celebration of the 30th Panagbenga Festival with the themed ‘Blooming Without End’ in Baguio City, on February 28. The said midget dancer is part of the Tribu Siglat- Tinungbo Festival continegt of Pugo, La Union, and showed their rich culture of the Bago Tribethrough traditional dances such as Manmanok, Sadong, and Tadek, accompanied by gongs and bamboo instruments—elements that reflect their origins and beliefs. Aside from their colorful traditions, an important part of their lifestyle is farming and fishing, known as Panagkammel. Their livelihood is based on agriculture—growing rice, vegetables, and other crops—as well as the abundant natural resources of their environment. Panagkammel is not only a livelihood but also a symbol of their hard work, cooperation, and deep connection with nature. They also maintain customs such as Tinungbo, cooking food inside a bamboo, which shows their creativity and environmentalism. The seven other participants in the Festival Dance are the Lamut Harvest Festival Dance of Ifugao, Pagibang Damara Festival of SanJose, Nueva Ecija, Tribu Balitok a Pagey of Malasique, Pangasinan, Tribu Bagtas, Alisto SDO of Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur, Tribu Bannuar Ilocandia of Balaoan, La Union, Tribu Eulogiano-Baggak Festival of Bauang, La Union, and Tribu Kanluran Jones-PiniUsa Festival of Jones, Isabela. In addition, the six participants in the Elementary Drum and Lyre Streetdancing competition on February 1 will also be paraded on Saturday, to continue their remaining 70 percent performance, as only 30 percent was taken from their performance during the grand opening of the Panagbenga Festival. The participants include Tuba Central School Drum and Lyre Corps; Pugo Central School, El Tribu D’Lucban Elementary School. Baguio Central School, Lucban Elementary School, Puguis Elementary School and Mabini Elementary School. The participants will once again showcase their skills in the showdown competition as the finale at the Melvin Jones Football ground, Burnham Park, Baguio City.(By Zaldy Comanda)          

  BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) General Manager Mark Lapid, along with Mayor Benjamin Magalong, personally inspected the ongoing rehabilitation of Burnham Park in Baguio City, on the afternoon of February 26. The P400 million fund for the rehabilitation of Burnham Park is a testament to TIEZA’s commitment to Baguio City to modernize the main public park in the Summer Capital, which is expected to be completed by May 2026. Lapid, along with agency officials, inspected the ongoing dredging operation and rehabilitation of the lake as Phase 1 of the project with a P100 million budget, which is a priority work. Contractor Dungan Constructors & Trading Corp. explained and Moment Diagram Builders Joint Venture informed Lapid and Magalong that the excavation works are about 40 percent complete, while the slope protection measures—considered the most technically challenging—have reached about 70 percent complete. Lapid and Magalong expressed confidence and joy at seeing the smooth progress of the rehabilitation in relation to the right path in its implementation. Lapid said the agency remains committed to providing continued funding support to ensure the completion of the rehabilitation, which aims to preserve the park’s historical value while improving its facilities for residents and tourists. According to Magalong, “It is really time for us to have a modern park, especially Burnham, which is a center for tourism, once the lake is completed, the skating rink, Children’s Park and other parts of the park will follow, along with upgrading pedestrian pathways, restoring landscaped areas, improving drainage systems, and improving recreational facilities such as boating areas, promenades, and public facilities. “This could have been done long ago because there was already a P400 million fund allocated, but during the pandemic, we withdrew it because our government needed funds to purchase medicine. So now that we have recovered and have the funds, I told the Mayor to start the rehabilitation, even if it is by phase by phase,” Lapid explained. Magalong thanked TIEZA for fulfilling its promise to continue the rehabilitation of Burnham Park, to address the effects of aging infrastructure, environmental degradation, and increasing tourist activity. (By Rose Frejane A.Cruz)    

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines —  The City Government of Baguio has been approved as a beneficiary of the 2026 Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance (LGSF-FA) under the Bagong Pilipinas Rice Program, with a total allocation of P56 million. Mayor Benjamin Magalong announced the development after receiving a letter from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. dated February 23, 2026 affirming the grant of the assistance intended to provide rice subsidies to qualified families. The P56 million allocation for the city is part of the almost P58-billion LGSF allocation for 2026 which aims to provide direct support to families and communities nationwide and will be downloaded straight to the local government unit in a direct and digitized manner to ensure faster implementation. President Marcos expressed confidence in the city’s leadership, emphasizing that the funds must be utilized transparently and in accordance with existing government budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws. “As a former Local Chief Executive myself, I entrust to you and to all our local governments the efficient, equitable, and effective delivery of social services and economic development programs so that this much-needed support is delivered and felt by every ordinary Filipino,” the President said. In response, the mayor thanked the President for the assistance and assured that the distribution of the assistance in the City will not be influenced by political interests. “Rest assured that there will be no ‘epal’ in the distribution to beneficiaries. The assistance will go directly to the people who truly need it,” the mayor said. “With the direct release of funds to LGUs, he said implementation will now be more transparent, efficient and equitable,” he added. Magalong noted that in the past, similar programs were reportedly controlled by influential members of Congress. He expressed appreciation that the program is “no longer politicized.” He also assured residents that proper guidelines will be followed to ensure fair identification of beneficiaries and accountable use of the funds. Further details on the implementation and distribution schedule are expected to be announced soon. According to the President, the Bagong Pilipinas Rice Program LGSF-FA aims to provide 60 kilos of rice annually to over five million Filipino families nationwide. Under the program, each qualified family will receive 10 kilos of rice for six months every year. He said the P58-billion LGSF will also support other priority projects, including health facility upgrades, disaster preparedness initiatives, farm-to-market roads, electrification and water supply systems.(By Aileen P. Refuerzo)