BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) announced a historic milestone for the upcoming Panagbenga Festival, with a record-breaking 42 floats set to participate in the Flower Float Parade on February 23. This announcement was made during a press conference at Jollibee Porta Vaga, attended by city officials and led by Evangeline Payno, chief of staff of the BFFFI Executive Committee.
The Panagbenga, known for its vibrant celebrations, will see an unprecedented number of floats this year, surpassing the previous record of 33 floats set in 2024. The parade will feature a diverse array of floats, including 13 small floats, nine medium floats, and 14 large competing floats, alongside six non-competing floats. Notable entries include floats from the Baguio city government, Baguio Country Club celebrating its 120th anniversary, the Department of Tourism-Cordillera, SM-City Baguio, and Paragon Hotel.
Payno highlighted the introduction of the small float category, which includes both small floats and floral carts, as a key factor in the increased participation. She also noted that each float requires thousands of dozens of flowers, with at least 90% needing to be fresh.
In addition to the floats, the festival will feature five drum and lyre bands that qualified for the opening parade, set to march in the Grand Street Dancing parade on February 22.
Anthony de Leon, chairman of the BFFFI Executive Committee, expressed optimism about the grand parade, expecting it to be more spectacular than previous years. He pointed out the increased prize money for the large float parade winner, now at PHP750,000, up from PHP500,000, as an additional incentive for participants. De Leon, also the manager of the Baguio Country Club, emphasized the festival’s international accreditation and the continuous improvement in the quality of the floats as motivations for participants to excel.