Guimaras mango festival returns in ‘semi-digital’ format

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

Guimaras’ well-loved Manggahan Festival is upping the digital ante for its 28th edition in May 2021 to revitalize the local economy amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Manggahan Festival, which celebrates Guimaras’ provincehood as well as its thriving mango industry, was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Provincial Tourism Officer Liberty Novilla Ferrer told Daily Guardian via phone interview on Sunday that the province estimated to have lost P1.6 billion in tourism revenues in 2020.

Department of Tourism data (DOT) indicated that tourist arrivals in the island province fell by 85.12 percent in 2020 to just 15,384, against 103,367 in 2019.

This year’s edition of the festival, dubbed as “e-Manggahan,” will run for three days, from May 20 to 22, 2021 and will feature both online and physical activities.

Online activities throughout the duration of the festival, which will be featured and streamed in Manggahan social media pages, include:

– Launching of the province tourism promotional video “Safely Experience Guimaras First”;

– Manggahan Agri-Trade Fair livestreaming;

– Butlak Guimaras specials featuring Hubon Cultural Dancers, Guimaras frontliners, and Guimaras Governor Samuel Gumarin;

– Sambuwa sang Kinaalam and Sambuwa sang Kinaadman competitions;

– Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament;

– Photo and Vlog Making contest;

– Manggahan Cultural Throwback;

– Guimaras Virtual Tour;

– Thanksgiving mass for the provincehood anniversary; and

– State of the Province Address to be given by Gumarin.

Physical activities will kick off on May 20 with the Manggahan Ride, featuring bicycles and motorcycle rides provincewide.

The Sportsfest will feature non-contact sports, including badminton and chess tournaments on May 20, and billiards tournament on May 21.

The Manggahan Agri-Trade Fair will also open on May 20, featuring products from the Guimaras mango industry as well as food, craft, and plant products and services from other micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and farm tourism groups in the island province.

This year’s food court, which is usually located in front of the provincial capitol, will not be featured according to Ferrer to avoid crowding and ultimately prevent transmission of COVID-19 during the event.

Manggahan By The Beach will be held at the San Lorenzo beach areas on May 21 and Alubihod beach areas on May 22, and will feature game stations, a mango-eating contest, exhibits, virtual tour, take-out stations, and acoustics.

Gumarin will deliver the State of the Province Address via online streaming on May 22 to close the three-day festival.

It will also fall on the day of the 29th anniversary of the Guimaras’ provincehood, having separated from Iloilo province on May 22, 1992 after a plebiscite pursuant to Section 462 of Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991).

Prior to becoming a province, Republic Act No. 4667 enacted by Congress on June 18, 1966 made Guimaras a sub-province of Iloilo.

Ferrer said that residents from other areas of Region 6 may be able to attend the festivities, provided they will abide by minimum public health standards such as wearing of masks, proper handwashing, and observance of social distancing.

Residents from outside the region may also attend, provided that they have no border restrictions in Guimaras and the observe regulations by the provincial government.

EO No. 12 series of 2021 issued by Gumarin allows non-residents to enter the province provided that undergo screening protocols set by the provincial government.

“Since we have reopened to tourists from Western Visayas and those who could comply to the Executive Order on border controls can join as long as they adhere to our requirements,” said Ferrer in a phone interview.

The objective of holding the festival, she said, is to help the province gradually revive economic activity as well as welcoming back tourism stakeholders.

“We want people to still celebrate and let them feel that Manggahan is still here. At the same time, we want to revive our economic activities in the province. Our MSMEs can market products and our tourism stakeholders can progressively revive their operations,” she said.

She said that the provincial government has tapped partners from the private and public sectors to promote and carry out Manggahan Festival activities, and is also currently working out partnerships with the Region 6 and central offices of the DOT.