Peñafrancia Garden Festival 2002
Celebrating Green Days of September
The 18th Century ruins where the city post office and
district jail used to stand bore all the usual signs of several
years of disuse, strewn with tall grasses and litter. In a few
days time, however, the place was cleaned up, potholes
filled and lights installed; even its comfort rooms, which
have been in disrepair, became functional again. The
preparations were feverish because, for the next eleven
days and more, this was to be the site of the Peñafrancia
Garden Festival 2002, the latest project of the Ladies in
Green Foundation, Inc. (LIGFI).
The transformation was the result of the collaboration
among different non-government, government agencies,
private corporations, particularly the Philamlife General
Insurance Company, which owned the property, the city
government, as well as a host of volunteers.
Soon, people from various walks of life began to come in,
many driven by curiosity, others attracted by the scent of
greens and flowers and by the colorful display of various
Bicolano
products.
Impressed,
the
Sangguniang
Panglungsod passed a resolution officially commending
the Ladies in Green for the successful mounting of the show.
Central to idea behind the project’s launching was to combine ecological themes with
alternative livelihood schemes based on products that grow from the soil. The festival
therefore incorporated traditional garden-related activities with technologies that
promote productivity as well as other concerns usually associated with agriculture. To
achieve its purpose, activities that educate were also a vital ingredient in the festival.
This was achieved through the free seminars and the enviro-arbor quiz contests.
Bicolano-made handicrafts also made its way to the festival, adding another dimension
to the LIGFI’s fiesta offering.
All in all, 43 exhibitors, some coming from as far as Davao down south and Baguio City
up north, participated in the garden festival. Over 7,000 patrons viewed the exhibit,
despite the rainshowers that usually accompany the month of September
It was a fitting offering to the Lady of Peñafrancia, patroness of Bicol, whose feast day
was being celebrated that month.
Background
Following the successful mounting in December 2000 of the Lantern Festival and Bicol
Cultural Show, members of LIGFI thought it was high time to mount another project with
similar impact. The idea of launching a garden show had earlier been proposed and
was given more serious consideration.
Originally, the project was planned to coincide with the holding of the Palarong
Pambansa which was to be hosted by the City of Naga. The theme was “Luntiang
Kapaligiran at Pangsakahang Bikol: Pagyamanin”. Exhibit dates were to run from May
19 – 26 at a venue just a few meters from the Metro Naga Sports Complex, main venue
for the national meet. The basic ingredients for the hosting of the festival were in place,
notably with the help of the Almeda family which had agreed to allow free use of their
property. With the uncertainties surrounding the playdates for the Palaro, however, the
Ladies in Green Foundation decided to postpone the project to a later date, pushing
through only with one of the major components of the Garden Festival, the Donate and
Plant a Tree activity, as a way of greeting the Environment Month of June. The main
site for the tree-planting activity, conducted after a lively kick-off ceremony at the Plaza
Quezon, was the Animas River in Pacol, an upland barangay.
LIGFI then decided to hold the project in September, a more opportune time because
the festival attracts hundreds of thousands of people, mostly devotees, tourists and
visitors. Appropriately, the theme was “Dolot ki Ina: Berdeng Kapalibotan, Mauswag na
Taranoman sa Bikol”. The turning point probably came when in a meeting with Naga
Mayor Jesse Robredo, talk got around to the topic of the Festival and the mayor heartily
agreed September was a better launching date for the project. Again, with supporters
of the original plan committing their assistance, the Festival became an idea whose time
had come.
This was to be followed by a series of meetings and consultations as LIGFI sought to
bring together the efforts and resources of various organizations and individuals. It
turned out to be a not so simple task, particularly with the precedents of excellence set
in previous projects of the LIGFI. Grounds design and development alone required the
concerted efforts of a lot of people, including San Francisco barangay officials, the
Department of Public Works and Highways, the local electric cooperative CASURECO
II, construction firms as well as volunteer students and consultants.
The garden festival was officially opened on September 12 with various luminaries
representing church, government and the private sector gracing the affair and adding
luster to the simple Filipiniana-themed launching program.
Bonsai making demonstration in one of the free lectures given during the Festival (left). Growers show
off their best products at right.
Highlights and Components
As planned, the project had the following features and components:

Landscaping contest and showcase
o Native artistry once again came to the fore in one of the main features of
the Festival. The Isarog Garden Society, an active partner of the Ladies in
Green, joins four competitors with their guest entry.
o Complementing these entries were the bonsai and artificial waterfall
landscape put up by local enthusiasts

Best of agricultural products competition (September 12)
o Led by the local Department of Agriculture, the contest showcased the
best of locally grown crops (Pinaka Contest) under three main categories:
Vegetables, fruits and rootcrops

Greens and orchids exhibits
o Exotic and colorful, the ornamental plants and orchids were among the
best-sellers in the festival. Most of the exhibitors who decided to extend
their stay for a few more days dealt in garden products.

Bicol products selling booths
o Focuses on Bicolano excellence and craftsmanship by featuring export
quality products such as pili delicacies, souvenir items, handicrafts,
furnitures and others. Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Free seminars/technical sessions
o Seminars on popular gardening topics like flower arranging, bonsai
making, production, maintenance and marketing of foliage and cut-flowers
as well as other ornamental plants. Experts led by Mrs. Shirley B.
Sanders, a native of Iriga City who is now an international landscape
consultant, spoke on a wide range of topics including landscaping, the art
of garden lighting, Unladsaka technology, mini-waterfalls and fountains,
aviary management and butterfly farming and many others. The technical
sessions were held inside the former district jail which had been converted
to a seminar hall for the festival and spearheaded by the Camarines Sur
State Agricultural College, in cooperation with the Bicol Consortium for
Agriculture and Resources Research Devt. (BCARD).

Enviro-Arbor Quiz show
o Led by the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection
International Philippines-Eco-Kids; participated in mostly by school-going
children in line with the LIGFI’s environmental education program for the
youth.
Amenities
Proving once again that the Bicolano never lacks in hospitality, the following amenities
were put in place for the Festival:
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Sanitation services, including janitors and toilet facilities
Round-the-clock Security Services, provided by the Philippine National Police,
barangay tanods, and in-house security guards
Free water and electricity supply
First aid station, provided by the FLC Foundation
Information booth, manned by the LIGFI Secretariat and volunteers
Centralized power control
Food court
Other attractions
Competiting with other activities also slated for the Peñafrancia Festival could be a
difficult task, thus were added other attractions such as the presence of the mascots
from foodchains Jollibee and McDonalds, and the holding of Magic Shows during days
when no seminars or technical sessions were scheduled. Regular raffle draws were
also held. These add-ons also added to the garden show’s theme-park feel.
Springs of Strength
The project, the largest so far undertaken by the Foundation in terms of scope and size,
was made possible by tapping into springs of strength: a community sufficiently
concscious of environmental issues, an active private sector with an equally supportive
media sector, and tried-and-tested linkages with outside resources.
Capitalizing on the gains made in LIGFI’s previous projects, particularly the Lantern
Festival and Cultural Show, the foundation enjoyed the support of vital institutions,
including the church, local government and the private sector. Complementing these
resources were linkages in both the local and national levels.
Momentum for Environmentalism
The momentum for local environmentalism is at such stage that a growing number of
non-government organizations, groups and individuals have adopted environmental
protection as their own cause. Another element that greatly helped made possible the
preparations given the demands for manpower and resources of a project of this size
and scope was the availability of student volunteers, mostly from the Bicol College of
Arts and Trades, who have opted for community service under the National Service
Training Program (Republic Act 9163, of which Congressman Cho Roco is one of the
major authors).
The Ladies in Green Foundation acted as a conduit for mobilizing these various groups
and individuals, tapping into resources that would have otherwise remained
inaccessible. This has largely proven true for the Peñafrancia Garden Festival.
For instance, Philamlife Insurance Company, generously allowed the use of said lot for
free. Technical experts lent their know-how in planning, designing, and mounting the
needed structures. Volunteers provided the muscle and skills.
Many organizations, offices and corporate sponsors pitched in to raise the modest
chunk of funds (many offered their services for free or donated needed materials) to
jumpstart the site’s operations. Particularly valuable were the inputs coming from the
Congressional Spouses Foundation Inc, and members of Congress, led by
Congressman Roco, who has always stood by the tenets of sustainable development
(marked with strong environmental components) as cornerstones of good governance
and true growth.
Putting together these various resources was LIGFI’s most daunting challenge but it
was also to be its greatest source of strength. Mrs. Badette Roco acknowledges that
without these cooperators, which ranged from major corporate entities, government
offices and agencies, non-government organizations, civic groups as well as supporters
from the local business sector, the festival could not have been mounted.
Fruits of the Festival
The Peñafrancia Garden Festival 2002, as was mentioned earlier, was conceived as a
vehicle for further promoting environmentalism, as part of the foundation’s re-greening
program. An interesting off-shoot of the project was the resurgence of interest in
gardening and related concerns, resulting in “born again” gardeners (people who have
rediscovered interest in the hobby) and converts (people who thought they could not
raise a decent potted plant but have found they could raise an entire garden). If any,
this was a clear indicator the Festival succeeded in its main goal.
The most visible change took place, of course, in a formerly vacant lot that was
transformed to a venue of refreshing and fertile sights. The Foundation has been
receiving queries and suggestions as to what was going to happen next in the Philamlife
Villa.
“Like angels with only one wing each, we can only fly embracing each other”, is one of
the Rocos’ favorite sayings to illustrate how various sectors can complement each
others strengths and weaknesses to be more effective in bringing about change in
society. Resource complementation worked to the full in the launching of the Garden
Festival, showing how various components could be put together from all those
resources to make something greater than the sum of all the parts.
Finally, however, the best fruits lie in things that could not be seen with the naked eye.
These were the affirmations of the validity of networking and community participation
and the valuable lessons that have sprung out of the entire experience. The
Peñafrancia Garden Festival was, in more ways than one, a first. And like all firsts,
some sort of learning curve must be undergone. These learning will surely prove
essential in the days following September as the Foundation faces new challenges.
Many of the seeds planted through the Peñafrancia Garden Festival project towards
promoting agricultural productivity, enhancing the marketability of Bicol products and
further advancing the cause of environmentalism take time to grow. The task now is to
nurture these seeds to full fruition.