BAGUIO CITY – Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan issued Administrative Order (AO) 008 series of 2017 suspending the afternoon classes in elementary and secondary, public and private schools in Baguio City on January 27, Friday, “to pave the way for the Chinese New Year Parade.
Earlier, Spring Festival chair Peter Ng said all is set for the celebration of the Spring Festival in Baguio City, which will open with a grand colorful parade and will be followed by the awards night and dinner.
The Spring Festival parade will start at upper Session Road and will disperse at the Melvin Jones Grandstand along Harrison Road.
Ng said the parade will feature the crowd-drawing dragon and lion dances and the floats of the different commercial establishments with the drum and lyre bands of various schools in the city.
City officials led by Representative Marquez Go and Domogan will join the heads and representatives of the various Baguio Filipino-Chinese community organizations in the parade.
The Filipino-Chinese community will distribute treats and goodies to the public to signify good luck for the coming Year of the Rooster.
A post-parade program will follow at the Melvin Jones grandstand at 4:30 p.m. with Chinese Consul and head of post Lei Ping of the Chinese Consular Office based in Laoag City as guest of honor and speaker.
The dinner and awards night will follow at 7 p.m. at the Hotel Supreme where individuals who made significant contributions to the causes and aspirations of the community will be given recognition.
The awardees will include the late Francisco Paraan for public service (posthumous), who was the Baguio City Police chief in his prime and the officer-in-charge (OIC) mayor in 1986.
The other awardees are Baguio City Councilor Peter Fianza for government service; Bishop Carlito Cenzon, who recently retired from the spiritual service; physician Julie Cabato for environmental and community service; and Benito Lim in the business sector.
On New Year’s day, January 28, the Fil-Chinese Community will distribute gifts to the indigents of Baguio City and nearby La Trinidad, Benguet which will commence at 2 p.m.
At the launching program of the Spring Festival on January 9, Domogan said the city government is grateful for the continued cooperation of the Fil-Chinese Community to the city’s programs and development efforts.
Domogan said in appreciation of this partnership, the local government unit (LGU) of Baguio City officially recognized the annual observance of the Chinese New Year as an official undertaking by virtue of City Ordinance Numbered 18 series of 1999.
“Long before the national government officially recognized the Chinese event at the time of President Noynoy Aquino, who declared the occasion a national holiday,” the mayor stressed.
The Baguio Fil-Chinese community organizations are the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) Baguio Chapter, Baguio Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Baguio Filipino-Cantonese Association Cordillera, Filipino-Chinese Amity Club Baguio chapter, Filipino-Chinese Shin Lian Association Baguio City branch, Tiok Lim Grand Mason Baguio City chapter, Mega Pines Realty and Development Inc., SM City Baguio, Baguio Patriotic High School and the Bell Church Baguio City. PNA-northboundasia.com