GENERAL SANTOS CITY (29 January 2014) - The local government of General Santos City (LGU-GSC) and Mindanao State University - General Santos City (MSU-GSC) are again getting ready to showcase the Best Tourism Event in the Philippines under the Culture and Arts Category -- the Kalilangan Festival which will take place on February 17-24 this year.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera together with Dr. Mary Lynn Abiera, MSU-GSC's Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and program director of Kalilangan Festival, spearheaded a soft opening for the festivity
Sunday (January 26) at SM Mall grounds attended by the city's executives.
Mayor Rivera said this year's Kalilangan Festival needs a lot of preparations and adjustments to ensure that the event will be a success.
With a budget of P3.5 million, Mayor Rivera disclosed that this year's Kalilangan will give tribute to the historic landing of General Paulino Santos together with the original settlers on February 27, 1939 at the shores of Dadiangas and their efforts to start a remarkable growth in the place unprecedented in all the regions of the country at that time.
This year's festival theme is "Gensan @ 75: Living the Culture." Rivera said that the sons and daughters of General Santos, as well as other pioneers and ethnic tribes residing in GenSan will be given tribute during the course of the festivity in their contribution to the historical progress of the city.
In addition, Abiera said that given a higher budget for this year, the organizers have sought to improve the institutional events and attractions of the Kalilangan Festival such as the "Kadena de Amor" which also features a historical re-enactment of General Paulino Santos' arrival in General Santos City.
Abiera said aside from that, grander fireworks display, more jovial street dance competition and better layout of stalls and amusements in the Oval grounds and in the main highways of the city are being planned to create an iconic ambiance of culture and festivity during Kalilangan Festival.
New events are also added to the line of activities of the festivity such as the "Tri-People Cultural Day" and "Pyesta sa Baryo".
The Kalilangan Festival has bagged the "Hall of Famer Distinction" after winning the "Best Tourism Event of the Philippines" three times in a row, Abiera said.
Abiera added that it is time to level up the festivity and turn it into a world class celebration.
"What we can do is to offer the public a festival worth celebrating and being proud of. It is the duty of the Mindanao State University and the local government of General Santos City to make the people learn the culture and history behind the progress of GenSan," Abiera said.
During the event, stakeholders such as local historian Jong Ramirez and other business magnates have suggested to the city mayor and the organizers to invite foreign visitors to participate in Kalilangan
2014 to attract investments in the city.
As for the safety of the upcoming festival, the Philippine National Police Region 12 (PNP 12) and Joint Task Force GenSan (JTF GenSan) have disclosed that they are already preparing tighter security plans
to ensure security. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/ Ian John M. Lagare)
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