'Wattah Wattah' festival in San Juan returns

After two years of cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Juan City government on Wednesday announced the return of the annual “Wattah Wattah Festival”  as part of this year’s celebration of the feast of its patron saint, St. John the Baptist.

According to Oscar Oida’s report on “24 Oras,” the city government said the event is allowed in areas under Alert Level 1 based on the guidelines released by the country’s pandemic task force.

“Dito sa San Juan, napakataas ng vaccination rate. In fact, 265 percent po ang ating fully-vaccinated na at tayo rin po ang nangunguna sa booster shots at 85 percent. ‘Yung ating mga mamamayan ay protektado na ng bakuna,” Mayor Francis Zamora said.

(We have a high-vaccination rate here in San Juan. In fact, our fully-vaccinated individuals are at 265 percent. We are also at the forefront of booster shots with 85 percent. Our constituents are protected by the vaccines.)

Zamora, however, reminded his constituents to adhere to the minimum public health standards in the conduct of their activities.

“Hindi pa rin ito nag panahon para magpabaya. Kinakailangan pa rin magsuot tayo ng mask dahil ang mask ay ang huling layer of protection natin mula sa COVID-19. Bawal po ang pag-inom. Bawal din po ang pagbasa ng maruming tubig, ganun din po ang mainit na tubig. Huwag na huwag natin gagawin ang mga bagay na makakasakit sa ating mamamayan,” he added.

(It is not the time to be negligent. We still need to wear masks because it is our last layer of protection from COVID-19. Drinking is prohibited. Dousing others with dirty water or hot water is also not allowed. Let us not do anything that would hurt others.)

Likewise, the Palawan province has resumed the celebration of the grand “Baragatan Festival” which started on June 10 and will last until June 30.

The provincial government said the start of the celebration coincided with the 120th founding anniversary of Palawan’s civil government.

Among the highlights of the festivities are the colorful parades, float parades, and street dancing competition for the Mutya ng Palawan 2022.—Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA News