LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—The 437th Agew na Pangasinan celebration on April 5 will be marked with various activities that will highlight the province’s rich and colorful history.
Pangasinan’s founding anniversary will start with a thanksgiving Mass at 8 a.m. to be held at the Sison Auditorium.
A commemorative program will then be held where Gov. Amado I. Espino III, Vice Gov. Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim Jr. and members of the Provincial Board will award prizes for this year’s winners of Kurit Panlunggaring Literary Contest.
The commemorative program’s guest of honor and speaker will be Rebecca Bustamante-Mills, president of Chalre Associates who is also an ASNA awardee.
Immediately after the program, the governor will open the Pangasinan Trade and Tourism Expo at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center. Various local products will be on display until the Pistay Dayat celebration.
Street-dancing in Parada na Luyag will make the event festive with the performances of contingents from different towns and cities in Pangasinan, enlivening the province’s history, festivals and culture.
A live concert dubbed Konsyerto ed Kapitolyo will feature the performances of Mitoy and the Draybers Band along with local talents like Banda ni Pogi, Renz Ruther Robosa, Arah May Robosa, and John Paul Dimaculangan, among others.
Meanwhile, April 5 has been declared as a special non-working public holiday in Pangasinan by President Rodrigo R. Duterte through Acting Executive Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, who signed Proclamation No. 179 on his behalf.
Earlier, a measure to institutionalize the holiday was made by former governor and current Fifth District Rep. Amado T. Espino Jr. and Second District Rep. Leopoldo N. Bataoil.
House Bill No. 2794, entitled “An Act Declaring April 5 of Every Year as the Pangasinan Day and A Special Non-Working Public Holiday in the Province of Pangasinan,” will soon be enacted into law.
Correspondingly, the Pangasinan Provincial Board approved Provincial Resolution No. 603-2017 on its regular session on March 20, endorsing the passage of the bill filed by the two congressmen.