TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - The Tuguegarao City government recently released the list of activities as well as the security and health measures for the upcoming celebration of the city’s Pavvurulun-Afi Festival which will cover the first two weeks of August 2022.

According to the calendar posted by the official Pavvurulun-Afi Festival Facebook page, festival activities will run from August 1st up to 16th, the actual day of the patronal fiesta itself.

Specific activities include food and trade fairs, a folk song contest, tree planting, band competition, street dancing, pansit festival, a Ms. Tuguegarao pageant, a concert among numerous others, which according to Mayor Maila Ting-Que, are mostly set outdoors and in short durations to coincide with pandemic prevention measures. 

The upcoming festival marks the return of face-to-face celebrations since the entire city underwent a series of hard lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years.

Mayor Ting-Que, however, said in a press conference that considering the recent rising again of COVID-19 cases and the possible heightening of the city's alert level, measures will be taken to adjust the conduct of the festival activities by lessening in-person guests and by focusing on virtual broadcasting of the events, among others.

Through its online news program, the Tuguegarao City Information Office also presented the security preparations being conducted by the city’s Command Center and the local police force.

According to Police Lt. Rosemarie Taguiam, the Tuguegarao Police Station has already crafted a deployment plan to ensure peace and order during the celebration. 

Taguiam added that designated police teams will be assigned in all activities, which will also strictly enforce pandemic health protocols.

On the other hand, Angelito Suyu of the Tuguegarao City Command Center said that they will be monitoring all kinds of incidents 24/7 through 122 realtime CCTV cameras installed in strategic parts of the city.

According to Suyu, residents may reach the Command Center through the following hotline numbers: 09168872897, 09563477979, 09563477981. 

The Pavvurulun-Afi Festival, as the city’s feast for its patron, San Jacinto de Polonia, started out simply as “Pavvurulun”, from the Ibanag and Southern Itawit term for fellowship or togetherness.

During the past city administration, the festival’s name was officially changed to “Afi”, which means fire in both Ibanag and Itawit, two of the city’s dominant languages, citing the reportedly historical and cultural significance of fire in local way of life.

This upcoming fiesta, dubbed as “Pavvulurun-Afi” will see the return of the concept of togetherness, combined with fire as a cultural symbol.

For more information, the festival’s official online page may be accessed through: https://www.facebook.com/PavvurulunAfi. (OTB/JKC/PIA Region 2/thumbnail photo from USLT)