THE untimely demise of Mountain Province Governor Leonard Mayaen on March 31 prompted the organizers of the Lang-ay Festival to reconsider the schedule of events in the province's festival.
“In a last minute decision, the Lang-ay Organization decided to tentatively reschedule the Lang-ay Festival originally calendared on April 6, 7, and 9 to April 14-16,” Angel Baybay, provincial spokesperson, told Sun.Star Baguio.
The Igorot International Convention and the Foundation Day celebrations will push through with their events, but will have less merry-making.
Mt. Province Representative Maximo Dalog has said that instead of the scheduled opening parade for the Lang-ay Festival on Friday, April 1, the Provincial Government offered a mass for the untimely demise of Governor Mayaen.
Mayaen died of cardiac arrest on Thursday, March 31. He was serving his second term and was running unopposed for the same position in the coming May 2016 elections.
The late governor was replaced by Vice Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, while the latter was replaced by Board Member Francis Tauli in an oath taking on Thursday, according to Baybay.
The Provincial Government is prepared to show respects to the late governor in case the family decides to bring him home, Baybay said.