All roads lead to Negros Oriental this week as the Province welcomes visitors from near and far to witness the Buglasan Festival.
This festival, which traces its roots to the late ‘70s as a cultural event prepared by Foundation University, has taken on a life of its own and has grown by leaps and bounds. This Buglasan is touted as the biggest Buglasan to ever be launched.
This is a good sign, both economically and politically.
Soon after the Province of Negros Oriental formally took over the Buglasan, this became a political barometer of sorts of a sitting governor. There were festivals in previous years where local government units whose mayors were not aligned with the provincial leadership would not join the province’s annual fiesta celebration.
This year, however, in response to the call for a united political front in Negros Oriental, all 25 local government units in the Province are joining the major activities of this year’s Buglasan Festival.
Gov. Chaco Sagarbarria is reaping the benefits of the political leadership of his father, Cong. Chiquiting, who is working out a coalition of all political forces in the province. The directive to unify the leadership in the Province was made by Speaker Martin Romualdez, after the tragedy that took place last March 4 in Pamplona which set Negros Oriental a few steps backward on many fronts.
Former Tourism Undersecretary Woodrow “RR” Maquiling, who has seen the best festivals across the country, is leaving no stone unturned as he leads the Provincial Tourism Council in organizing this event.
We all need something to celebrate after all the bad news that we have had this year.
Buglasan is it!
