Notwithstanding the two-day ‘Media Marshal Law’, I must say the highlights of the Panagbenga celebration—the streetdance and float parade were a success.

The float parade doubled crowd attendance last Sunday. This was gleaned from the people who walked down Session Road after the parade. (see front page photo)

The crowd was so thick that if we climbed down the footbridge, we could have stepped on someone’s head. The most prudent thing was wait out until there was space to land our feet on the road.

The streetdance competition is left wanting in terms of participation but it made up for performance—quality wise.

The flower bedecked floats were extraordinary especially the Renaissance theme dances of Karen Navarette and group.

For the first time, a sports group was able to present their athletic prowess on an equally well prepared float this time not with the usual fairies and princesses but bodybuilders.

Their float, somehow, gave a semblance of the contribution of sports in the Panagbenga     celebrations.

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In sportswriting, we try to dwell mostly on heroes and their spectacular winning plays. This time, let’s look back on the wonderful things we saw during last weekend’s parades. No more media marshals please. They’re all back in Dagupan, Urdaneta, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and NCR anyway.

The most wonderful sight I saw was visually impaired individuals being treated to lunch on stage by the organizers led by Baguio Country Club general manager Anthony de Leon.

ADL, who was also acting as quiz master in an inter-school competition earlier, says they have been doing that since they run the yearly Baguio festival. It was heartwarming indeed.

At the footbridge were we perched ourselves for our photo coverage, local— and I mean local—communication groups were quick to attend to people fainting as the floats passed by. They were easily carried on stretchers and transferred to a waiting ambulance.

Honesty also prevailed even among the crowd as someone turned over a lost leather wallet, the size of a long business envelope, to the security volunteers. I have photos of the volunteers should you happen to be the one who lost the wallet.

There are gross and unworthy scenes we have witnessed but let us savor first the good ones—the better side of the month-long Panagbenga festival. It is very hard to overlook how every float was carefully decked with Malaysian Mums and Chrysanthemums and how every headdress was painted and decorated by the child’s mother the night before.

Looking on the brighter side, the Media Marshal Law bonded us together as one to protect our right to continue serving the public with free information.

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HALF-TIME SHOW. Your deadline beater and fellow sports-journalist Rod Osis of SunStar Baguio will launch a weekend sports talk show entitled Half-Time starting March 14.