Philippine Tourism 7,107

The Sandugo Festival is an annual celebration in the province of Bohol. It commemorates the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna, a local chieftain and Captain Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Spanish explorer and colonizer. The Sandugo or Blood Compact which occured on March 16, 1565, symbolizes and seals their friendship and peace treaty.

The festivities start in March while the tribal street dance competitions begins in July to coincide with the
“Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan” (The People of Bohol) festival. It includes the re-anactment of the
blood compact, religious mass and street parade and dancing and search for the Miss Bohol.

The street dance competition which is the highlight of the festival is held in Tagbilaran City. Each group
creates its own dance with special colorful costumes and lively choreography.

The Viva Vigan Festival is celebrated every first week of May in the historical town of Vigan,
Ilocos Sur.
The main attraction is a Calesa Parade and Contest. A calesa is a horse-drawn carriage and the much
preferred mode of transportation in Vigan for newcomers and tourist. The parade features 100 calesas
beautifully decorated with indigenous materils like tha Abel Iloko (native handwoven cloth of Vigan),
Burnay (Vigan jars), agricultural products and processed foods like longanisa, bagnet and rice cakes.

There’s also the Binatbatan Street Dancing Contest were dancers wear colorful, innovative costumes
and props. Binatbatan is an Ilocano fold dance. “Batbat” is the first process in making the Iloko
Abel. The street dancing depicts the long standing way the Ilocanos beat the cotton pods with
two bamboo sticks to separate the seeds from the fluff called “batbat”.

Other activities are the ramada games, Santacruzan, religious rituals, food fairs and exhibits.

Baguio celebrates the Panagbenga Festival from February till early March with two of the festival’s major highlights — the Street Dancing Competition and the Float Parade.

The Panagbenga Festival, also known as the Baguio Flower Festival, is named after a kankanaey term meaning “a season of blooming.“ The festival is a tribute to the beautiful flowers the mountain city of Baguio is known for.

The Panagbenga Festival has been held in February each year since 1995, featuring flower-laden floats similar to Pasadena, California’s famous Rose Parade. It is street dancing with an Philippine touch with market encounters and other activities. The street dancers’ Cordillera-inspired costumes, and the traditional Bendian, an Ibaloi dance of celebration highlight the native Igorot culture.

Favorite Panagbenga resources are:

• Panagbenga Festival
• Tips for a Great Panagbenga Experience in Baguio!
• Baguio Flower Festival Blooms Anew