It is sad to think that after 15 years, the Panagbenga Festival is now experiencing the pains brought by commercialism. Go to the top of Session Road and see how sponsors have bannered their products, obstructing the views of what should have been entertainment shows for the community to see. Observe how much space is left for people to walk on from the top of Session Road down.

Have you seen the big advertisements on some of the floats? Have you seen the stickers pasted on the children’s uniforms and commercials on their faces?

Wasn’t the Panagbenga mainly a community activity, highlighting our uniqueness designed to draw visitors to the city? Did we not enjoy the first years of Panagbenga, because it was mainly for us? Were we not happy because we had simple activities then, and yet we enjoyed the influx of visitors who enjoyed the activities with us? We were so proud then because we knew we were honoring one another with this celebration. Did we not all witness the blossoming of Baguio? This was our activity—our blossoming. We wanted to show the nation and the world that we were a land of flowers and blossoms, traditions and arts—a beautiful and unique community. Now, our events have media marshals lording it over our local media. “Trabaho lang daw, volunteer lang daw sila, sumusunod lang daw sa utos ng organizer, sabi ng isa.” And to think that they harassed the very same people who nurtured the blossoming of Panagbenga. Our own media experiencing alienation in our very own Baguio event.

The alienation did not stop there. Even our Pony Boys, tourist attractions by themselves, were not supported. Have we lost the Panagbenga spirit? Ask people who witnessed the street parades. People lined the streets as early as five in the morning only to be robbed of the performances as the performers were brought to the Athletic Bowl. It was more a field demonstration than a street parade. Mabuti na lang we had very cooperative student participants.

What was the reason for the long lapses and gaps in the parades? Even Baguio old timers who religiously watch the parades every year were very disappointed.

Ask our media friends. Ask them how these marshals treated them. What was the reason behind? Many of the answers may be found in YouTube and Facebook. Why were these people so powerful? Who ordered this arrogance anyway? We should not tolerate this kind of treatment again. This is a matter of command responsibility. The one who gave the order should take responsibility for the actions of his subordinates. Did we really need outsiders as media marshals to police our own media? Wasn’t that ridiculous? Who were the real heroes? Our civic groups who took care of the sick?

By and large, we all know that Baguio is unique. Walk up and down Session Road. You will know the genuine Baguiote. No need for introductions, the face says it all. We don’t need identification cards. We just need the Baguio smile. That is the Baguio spirit. And we treat each other with respect.

Open your eyes. Listen to the sentiments of the Baguio people. Ano ba talaga ang spirit ng Panagbenga? Profit making ba? So this fiasco wont happen again, maybe we should make a survey and evaluate this year’s Panagbenga. What were its strengths? What were its weaknesses? Get the sentiments of our local community, especially the Pony Boys and the barangays. Sino nga ba ang mga nakikinabang? See what the event has done to our environment, to our trees, to Burnham Park.

For instance, this year we saw one innovation—the sheds with commercials. Each seat charged 50 pesos. Pero teka, hindi ba natakpan yung mga nasa likod? Tama ba naman ito?

Maybe its time to make a change. Maybe we needed the media fiasco – para magising tayong lahat! Para magkaroon ng pagbabago.

We should rethink and make our presence felt. Already some Baguio concerned citizens have suggested a week should be allotted for the local community. Sa atin atin lang. Similar to what Kidlat Tahimik did during his time. For the children to enjoy instead of just parading. No more tiangges please. They obstruct walking areas to the lake. Give the park back to the people of Baguio. Put the Market Encounter in the Rose garden that way you distribute the crowd. Make the children happy – give back their biking area and light up the lake or Burnham Park in general.

In the early 1990s when we had the Agoo phenomenon, millions of people flocked to Agoo to witness the miracle of Judiel Nieva. The people most affected were the locals. Most of the people who sold souvenir items and food were not from Agoo. Some came as far as Cebu selling Sto. Niño’s. Some came from Antipolo selling cashew nuts. Manila entrepreneurs sold empty bottles and religious mementoes. Let us not allow this to happen to us. Let’s enjoy what we have. Let us have a say on what is happening in our city. Enough is enough. This is a matter of respect and honor for the Baguio community.