TADIAN, Mountain Province (PIA)– The homegrown festival of this town is now institutionalized as an annual event through Municipal Ordinance No. 07, s. 2016, approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Authored by Councilors Ventura Bitot and George Bisen, the ordinance institutionalizes the conduct of the Ayyoweng Di Lambak Ed Tadian Festival which starts on the second week of February to the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of March of every year .
This festival aims to perpetuate the Tadian cultural heritage that is value-loaded towards peace, unity and progress; bring about cultural awareness and reaffirm Tadian’s identity; enhance participation, unity and camaraderie among the people in the municipality; enhance research and documentation on the municipality’s culture and oral literature; provide a venue for the education of children of the IKSP through cultural theatre practice and festivals; strengthen inter-local government unit and agency relationships; and boost the socio-economic situation of the municipality through opening up of tourism opportunities; enhance product development and production, commerce and industry; and preservation and protection of the environment and natural resources.
The ordinance provides that performers during the said festival should observe the dos and don’ts on cultural performances such as the distortion of the performing arts, wrong use of costumes and artifacts; no butchering of animals and reciting of ritual prayers during performances in all public festivals, ground demo and stage theatre performance, instead present it with improvisational action except the “pitik” and the like (social prayers); all performers related to cultural acts heritage must be well researched and properly prepared or practiced for the meaningful showcasing of the soul of indigenous knowledge and values; and Anap di Bangan and Gatan must be based on cultural values.
The municipal government shall provide at least P500,000.00 annually for the staging of the Ayyoweng. All other fees and donations collected from the staging of this festival shall be deposited in a trust fund which shall be considered and exclusively used as revolving fund of the annual Ayyoweng Festival.
An executive committee is created to manage and decide all matters related to the betterment of the programs and activities related to the festival.** Juliet B. Saley
