LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur, April 9 (PIA) --- On its 5th Handiong Festival and celebration of Libmanan’s 441st Foundation Anniversary, Libmaneños chose to rekindle the sense of heroism and look back on the sacrifices and bravery of their local hero, Handiong.
Libmanan Mayor Marilyn Jimenez stated that the week-long celebration of Handiong Festival aims to remind the young generation how the town’s civilization started and for them to imitate the good deeds that Handiong possessed and the tenets that he lived by, not to mention his bravery and love for his people.
Handiong is known in the archives of Bicol history as the brave warrior who wiped out the monsters that were creating havoc over the peaceful land of Ibalon. The restoration of peace in his place brought forth many good things, one of which is the creation of an equal law that no one will be called masters nor slaves. Everyone will all have an equal footing.
Jimenez said that these traits are worth-emulating and should be continued and nurtured by the upcoming generation.
“We do not want to lose sight of these valuable principles and ethics and one way of continually reminding our youth about these is through the celebration of Handiong Festival where we commemorate the blessings of having a great hero in the name of Handiong- the very reason too why we have a progressive Libmanan.”
One of the highlights of the celebration is the annual Libmanan Regatta competition. Here, all the best rowers will show off their stamina and harmony in paddling in order to grab the championship crown. The municipalities of Cabusao, Calabanga, Camaligan, Magarao joined the race which was held at the historic wide river of Libmanan.
The recently concluded competition was divided into three categories: the 10-man team, 6-man team and the dragon boat competition. Paddlers from LGU Magarao grabbed the first place under the 10-man category, followed by Calabanga as 2nd placer and Cabusao in the 3rd place.
Rowers from Camaligan grabbed the first place in the 6-man team category, Calabanga – 2nd and Magarao got the third place. Magarao redeemed another win when it got the 1st place in the Dragon boat competition.
Aside from honoring Handiong, the local government through the Municipal Programs and Events Section headed by its Chief, Ruel “Bibby” Jimenez also intends to promote the preservation of their culture and the promotion of their tourist sites to domestic and local tourists. Some of the activities which were conducted in line with this objective include the launching of the Inland cultural heritage Ecotourism tour and marine ecotourism adventure, Handiong Exhibits and Fair, among others.
Various programs were also launched to protect and preserve the environment. This includes the Buhayon an Salog program or river revival program which kicked off through the dispersal of fingerlings in the river and the Libmanan Riverbanks vegetation and forestation program, a soil erosion control disaster mitigation measure.
The town of Libmanan is considered as an extremely large municipality with a total of 75 barangays under its reign. (LSMacatangay, PIAV/Camarines Sur)