58th Araw ng Lapuyan highlights 1st 'Kamgbegu Festival'

• Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1361447036264/58th-araw-ng-lapuyan-highlights-1st-kamgbegu-festival-
• Monday, November 9, 2015

By Alma L. Tingcang

To brighten the festivities in celebration of the 58th Araw ng Lapuyan, the culture-rich Subanen tribe of this peaceful town in Zamboanga del Sur held the 1st “Kamgbegu Festival” (Feast of the Harvest) to thank God for a bountiful harvest.

“After a good harvest, the Subanen people express their thanksgiving by holding a feast and inviting people to share the blessings from God, which is typically a Subanen culture,” Mayor Daylinda P. Sulong said happily.

The launching of the 1st Kamgbegu Festival was replete with colorful dance presentation from JH Cerilles State College, dancers with their vibrant costumes wowed the audience and received a loud applause from guests and local spectators.

The drizzle which later turned to a heavy downpour did not dampen the spirit of the graceful dancers with the cheering crowd awed at their overwhelming performance.

Indeed, Lapuyan has been transformed from a quaint little town to a bustling agricultural center, and yet preserving the rich Subanen culture through the School of Living Tradition established by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts with the support of the local government.

Mayor Sulong also cited the support of the provincial government especially the opening of JH Cerilles State College (JHCSC) campuses throughout the province making tertiary education accessible to distant municipalities.

“It will be easier because we have JHCSC here in Lapuyan. Parents need not worry about sending their children to the city to acquire college education, it is right at our doorstep,” the lady mayor proudly announced.

She also mentioned the road network project connecting Kumalarang, Lapuyan and Margosatubig and other infrastructure projects, and the opening of Margosatubig Regional Hospital for the health needs of the marginalized sector.

Gracing the festival was Governor Antonio H. Cerilles, who is known as an adopted son of Lapuyan. He was given a shield as a token by Mayor Sulong, symbolizing that the governor will protect the Subanen and the people of Zamboanga del Sur.

In his inspirational message, Governor Antonio H. Cerilles said, “Lapuyan is considered an interior town. Not anymore. There is now a law which makes Kumalarang-Lapuyan-Margosatubig a national road project.”

He said the project has been finalized on October 20, and added that the road to Bulawan is already a national road with an allocation of P60 million.

The governor said, “We are looking at the total development of the province with the ongoing construction of the coastal road connecting Dumalinao to San Pablo, Dinas, Dimataling, Tabina, V. Sagun and Margosatubig.”

Zamboanga del Sur has been hailed as the 5th most competitive province in the Philippines and declared as peaceful and development ready by the AFP and PNP. “I want to maintain that, so investors from outside Zamboanga del Sur will come,” said the governor.

“I know we can do better. We are not an industrialized province but basically an agricultural one. But we can do better by showing our support to the government and whoever sits as president,” he added.

“In the area of athletics, we are the only province with a sports academy. I hope and pray that other provinces will copy us. I hope they come and see what we are doing, how we can turn barangay people to become national athletes,” Cerilles underscored.

“We must think as a people with one vision and mission, we need to cooperate and recognize the total effort of the people of Zamboanga del Sur for the progress and development that we all desire,” the governor concluded. (ALT-PIA9/Zamboanga Sibugay)