BANGUS FESTIVAL HAS ARRIVED

GOVERNOR Amado Espino Jr. and Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, in solidarity with Dagupan City officials, momentarily left the Pangasinan Pista’y Dayat on Thursday night to join the grand Bangusan Street Party, the culminating event for the 2009 Bangus Festival, on Jose R. de Venecia Expressway Extension in Dagupan City.

It was the first time that top provincial officials made their presence felt in the Dagupan Bangus Festival since this was launched in 2002. Dagupan, a chartered city, is not under the jurisdiction of the provincial capitol.

Espino and Agabas joined Dagupan Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. and Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, who were with 2nd District Rep. Jose deVenecia Jr. and his wife Gina.

Senator Manny Villar, a close friend of the De Venecias who has signified intent to run for president in 2010, arrived.

It was the biggest street party that saw a million people celebrating until the wee hours of Friday morning.

The Jose R. de Venecia Highway Expressway Extension was closed to vehicular traffic where 10 stages were set up on which popular bands played. With the weather cooperating fully, revelers feasted all night.

KALUTAN

De Venecia, Mayor Fernandez and Vice Mayor Fernandez, and city councilors participated in the ceremonial lighting of grills to signal the start of the street party

“It was splendid, almost everybody was there,” said De Venecia who hailed the Bangusan Street Party as so far the best-attended since the Bangus Festival was launched in 2003.

Except for separate road accidents involving a tricycle and a motorcycle, no untoward incident at the street party was reported. The presence of policemen, members of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) and barangay tanods was visisble through out.

Both Mayor Al Fernandez and Vice Mayor Fernandez who transformed the Bangusan Street Party into a huge cultural celebration were heaped with praises for the successful and innovative handling of the event.

Offices, companies and firms took the opportunity to set up booths and grills to promote their respective products and services while restaurants set up stalls to serve food and drinks in the evening.—LM

8 to 10 M overseas Filipinos
watch Bangus Festival

The Bangus Festival of Dagupan City has definitely arrived.

Millions of Filipinos here and overseas have watched the proceedings of the 15-day festival from April 16 to May 1, through television and the internet, and they continue to talk about it.

Fourth District Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. said those who keenly watched the Bangus Festival events included Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and other Filipinos abroad.

He added that the Bangus Festival is a truly Pangasinan phenomenon, a major tradition compared to the Mar de Gras in Latin America or in Louisiana, U.S.A. or the Samba Festivals of Brazil.

He and his wife Gina joined the crowd-drawing Bangusan Street Party held at the Jose R. de Venecia Sr. Expressway Extension on Thursday.

“Tens of thousands of people in Pangasinan and Dagupan own bangus fishponds. So, in effect, the bangus has contributed to the emergence of the middle class society in Dagupan and the province,” he said.

Started in 2002, the Bangus Festival has become one of the biggest fiestas in the province, said De Venecia whose family is one of the pioneer bangus raisers in Dagupan.

De Venecia lauded Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. and Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, honorary chairman, and chairman, respectively of the 2009 Dagupan Bangus Festival, City Manager Alvin Fernandez, all the city councilors, barangay chairmen and other officials and employees of Dagupan for the “historic, gigantic and a truly Pangasinan phenomenon”.—LM

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