CABARROGUIS, Quirino—Street dancers and grand parade participants braved the rains as they performed during celebrations to mark the province’s Panagdadapun Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
The five-day feast marking Quirino’s foundation as a province focused on the theme “Honoring 54 Years of Heritage, Advancing Together as a First-Class Province.”
Governor Dakila Carlo Cua said the festival shows the richness of Quirino’s culture and traditions.
“The Panagdadapun Festival, from the Ilocano word panagdadapun, means ‘assembly’ or ‘coming together’ wherein the people, including the indigenous folk, band together,” chief tourism operations officer Aurea Martinez said.
Quirino was founded in 1971 through Republic Act No. 6394 after it was carved out of Nueva Vizcaya and named after the sixth President of the Philippines, Elpidio Quirino.
Aside from the Bugkalots, other Quirino natives include Dumagats, Ifugaos, and Isinays.
The event was marked with the drum and lyre competition, agro-industrial and ecotourism booths and trade fair, discount caravan, pregnant women’s congress, bloodletting, and battle of the bands, among others.
The province’s culture was also promoted in the arts and craft exhibit and the Dapun art showcase, Quirino Got Talent (Season 12), bike fun ride, circumcision operation, Tupad payout and distribution of livelihood assistance and tools, including bakery equipment, cattle, and protective gears for disaster response volunteers.
Local artisans also did live demonstrations on transforming wood, fiber, and canvas into “innovative works that bridge tradition with modern design,” provincial administrator Carmelita Jimenez said.
