BONTOC, Mtn. Province – The legislative caretaker of the province paid tribute to the man who started the Lang-ay Festival and the municipal festivals including the Am-among Festival last September 16, 2017.
Kalinga Congressman Allen Jesse Mangaoang was the guest of honor and speaker during the Am-among Festival.
He paid tribute to the late Congressman Maximo Dalog and asked the audience to remember him.
“He referred to him as the Father of Lang-ay Festival and perhaps all the cultural festivals in Mountain Province. . . On this occasion let us remember him always in our hearts for it was through the Lang-ay Festival that spawned the cultural festivals including the Am-among festival which we are celebrating today”, Mangaoang said.
The Lang-ay Festival was first staged in 2005 “for the eMountain Province to come together in a day or two of merriment amidst the partaking of indigenous foods and wines”.
It was then that municipal festivals mushroomed and are being celebrated up to the present.
Indeed, the Am-mong Festival is the most unique and expressive way to celebrate the glorious tradition which has been passed on to generations.
“Our theme which is ‘Championing Change, Embracing Values, Prosperity for All’ fits the occasion considering that as we welcome change we still have to continue preserving our age-old cultural values and practices for the prosperity and progress of all. Change has always been inevitable especially in our lives and culture as a people”, Mangaoang elaborated.
Mangaoang during the occasion said that multi-millions worth of projects was seen to it by the late congressman to be funded in the 2018 budget. For 2018, the province will benefit from the funding initiatives of the late congressman.
Provincial Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. said that this occasion also serves as a venue where the people of Bontoc can sit down and plan out ways by which change could seep through without losing their worth as a community because it is only by embracing change that we can attain a dynamic and healthy environment that will lead us to our vision of a prosperous future for the incoming generations.
Mayor Franklin Odsey was more emphatic in saying that education must not only be lessons from the books; it must include the oral histories of our people and the wisdom that come from it. For us to achieve a more prosperous future, the change that is required of us must emanate from each of us looking back with gratitude for the rich lessons of the past.
“At 109, our beloved Bontoc is still a relatively young town. It is for this reason that we chose the theme . . . so that all will be reminded that this dream for positive change resulting in a more prosperous society is one that is reachable in our lifetime. We have to start with ourselves. . .”, Odsey said. **Roger Sacyaten
