26/11/2022
๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐! ๐ผ๐ฃ๐๐๐ข ๐ฃ๐?
Following the latest meeting held at City Mayorโs Office last November 11, 2022, a meeting was facilitated by the City Tourism, Culture, Arts & Information Office (CTCAIO) yesterday, November 24, 2022 as assisted by the Catbalogan City Administratorโs Office among representatives of host batches of the different secondary and tertiary schools in the city.
Present were representatives from Samar National School (SNS), Samar State University (SSU), Samar College (SC), St. Maryโs College of Catbalogan (SMCC), and Catbalogan National Comprehensive High School (CNCHS).
It can be remembered that it was around February of 2020 when all the big four schools (SNS, SSU, SC and SMCC) have jointly agreed to postpone that yearโs alumni homecoming due to the impending COVID-19 virus, followed by the March 2021 declaration of the City Tourism Council (CTC) and the Local Culture & Arts Council (LCAC) suspending the 2021 alumni festivities, and the 1st Quarter CTC and LCAC meeting last March 2022, which also postponed this yearโs conduct.
These series of meetings account for three years already that this annual tradition has been postponed although several schools have continued their hostings but with limited fanfare and reduced audiences as we continue to struggle with the pandemic.
But as the restrictions have eased up already and the vaccination statistics are slowly increasing, traveling as a major tourism drive and as one of the outputs of alumni homecoming is slowly getting back on its feet and people are already eager to return home.
It is on this development and with the news that the 2023 Alumni Festival for all schools are set to return their hosting schedules, that the city government is seeking to extend help manage the influx of visitors, tourists and balikbayans by next year.
Specially so that by 2023, majority if not all of the crown drawing events such as the Manaragat Festival this August, which will be on its 20th anniversary and many other major events are to be held on full face-to-face but still with strict restriction on vaccination statuses.
So as not to strain the economy and to spread out the events all year round in order for the different economic industries to gain from this boom on different months or lengthened peak rather than on short months for a just quick peak and to ensure a peaceful and safe conduct of activities that alumni hosts from the five (5) schools were originally encouraged to hold their homecoming during the new summer of June and July rather than the hectic August of 2023.
All the five (5) schools initially agreed to hold their events between June and July 2023, but Samar National School, which has the biggest number of alumni, participants, and would-be returnees opted to conduct their events on mid of August 2023 leading to the Fiesta Kaadlawan of our Patron Saint, Seรฑor San Bartolome on the 24th, which is also one of the busiest of the yearly Manaragat Festival.
Although the city government understands the reasons of returning Catbaloganon and their local counterparts to just coincide the alumni hosting during the fiesta month to maximize time and resources, it may at a given time cause fatigue to the economy including the different service providers and suppliers since the already crowd-drawing Manaragat will collide with the expected Alumni fever.
These include our accommodation establishments, venues and spaces for events, restaurant and food establishments, suppliers of services like lights and sound systems, photography, videography and many others, which greatly depend on events, activities and related gatherings.
In fact, it is expected that the 2022 tourism statistics from accommodation establishments as the year rounds up will be at par or even surpass already the 2019 pre-pandemic statistics, proving that the 2023 will be even higher in terms of tourist arrivals.
Catbalogan City Government hopes that despite this possible simultaneous conducts, measures will be in placed to ensure safe implementation since after all, these events are not just for the few but for the greater public and the bigger community.
๐ฟ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ฃ!
(Report by Ador Hurtado, CTCAI Officer)
