ALL roads go to Baguio City this weekend as presidentiables join other visitors in the yearly Flower Festival known as “Panagbenga.”
Bagumbayan standard bearer Senator Richard Gordon and running mate former MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando will be in the summer capital this Sunday as part of their Northern Luzon tour (Pangasinan-Baguio City-La Union).
Ang Kapatiran presidential bet John Carlos "JC" de los Reyes will also attend the Panagbenga festivities. The members of his ticket meanwhile will wrap up its Western Visayas tour that day.
Administration bet Gilbert Teodoro will start his Panagbenga celebration via a courtesy call on Baguio City Bishop Carlito Cenzon at the Baguio Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. followed by a walk along famous Session Road going to SM Baguio.
Also, the former defense chief will be joined by local officials during the parade, which is expected to start past 1 p.m.
The visit is part of his Northern Luzon campaign, which kicked off Friday in San Fernando, La Union and Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. He will be in cities of Candon and Vigan, Ilocos Sur on Saturday.
Senator Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) will be in Baguio City and Pangasinan over the weekend.
On contrary, former President Joseph Estrada of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino will just be in Manila for that day, spokesperson Margaux Salcedo said.
Estrada ended his Ilocos tour Friday before flying to Bacolod City for his March 1 and 2 sorties.
Other presidentiables have yet to announce their weekend plans.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said tourists can expect sunny weather as it noted no weather disturbance, which could affect the festivities.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) said Baguio’s annual event draws an average of one million local and foreign visitors.
A radio report said more than 10,000 performers such as band singers and musicians have arrived in Baguio to participate in the street dancing, concerts, as well as the float parade.
Traffic flow has been re-routed in order to accommodate the growing number of vehicles arriving for the festival.
Last year, more than one thousand volunteers helped man the two-kilometer parade routes for the two-day exhibition of street dancing and float parades.
Street dancing contingents totaled 42 while 25 floats displayed the best mountain blooms.
This year's staging is the 15th for the city that is swiftly recovering from the onslaught of Typhoon Pepeng, where it suffered single-digit hotel occupancy rates. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)