Kalesa in Laoag City (Photo by Leilani Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Ahead of the 58th Charter Day anniversary of this city next month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared June 19 as a special non-working holiday here.
“It is but fitting and proper that the people of the City of Laoag be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin said in Proclamation 219.
Laoag became a city in 1965 by virtue of Republic Act 4584 and was approved through a plebiscite.
As part of the celebration, the city government has launched a video competition that aims to promote key tourism destinations in the city.
With the theme, “Shine Laoag: Embracing Tourism Diversity,” the video competition is open to all Laoag residents and non-residents who are 18 years old and above.
Based on the contest mechanics, each participant must have only one entry with a video length of 4 minutes.
Winners in the two categories (Laoag resident and non-resident) shall receive PHP30,000, PHP20,000, and PHP10,000 for the best, second and third places, respectively while the most liked and most shared entries in the City Tourism Office Facebook will receive cash incentive of PHP3,000 each.
This year’s Charter Day celebration will also feature the 3rd Marunggay Festival, a local term for Moringa Oleifera (malunggay) and a well-known Ilokano backyard tree being promoted as a “superfood" for the Ilocanos.
Mayor Michael Keon said the city government’s 58th Charter Day celebration will be extra special as he intends to make Laoag shine the brightest under his administration.
Earlier this year, the city government allotted an initial amount of PHP19 million to light up village streets here with solar-powered lamp posts.
“In order to live up to the name 'Laoag' (which means light), we need to have more lighting in the city," said Keon in a media interview on Tuesday.
The first phase of the solar lighting project already commenced at the city proper leading to the city’s remotest barangays. (PNA)
