Halfway through the month-long celebration of the 30th Panagbenga Festival, the local government of Baguio City has persistently reminded festival goers to exercise “waste mindfulness.”
Through a series of social media posts by the Public Information Office (PIO), the city emphasized responsible garbage disposal amid the bustling days of the country’s biggest flower festival.
“Sa Panagbenga gimikan, wag kalimutan ang basurahan,” it reminded in a February 11 Facebook post, announcing that waste mindfulness “is an advocacy incorporated in this year’s Panagbenga edition.”
It also spotlighted the waste management policies and practices adopted by the administration, in line with the local government’s Circular Economy or Pansa-nopen Tayo strategies that focus on “reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery” or waste products.
Since the early February kickoff of the Panagbenga Festival, the Baguio City PIO has published a total of 10 waste management-related advisories and reminder infographics on its Facebook page.
Their common denominator is to spotlight the fundamental trait of cleanliness, bordered by the LGU’s call for strict compliance when it comes to responsible garbage treatment.
At the center is Baguio’s economy-based waste management protocol, exercised through Memorandum No. 13-2026, which mandates the mindful practice of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery.
Under the 2026 memo, a ‘four-stream segregation system’ must be followed, sorting out food waste (biodegradable food products), dry recyclables (paper, flyers, clean paper bags), plastics, and residuals (contaminated waste, styrofoam, other non-recyclables.
It also stressed that the waste management circular is a key idea integrated into the planning and celebration of the 30th Panagbenga. It reiterated the banning of plastic bags and sachets, styrofoams, plastic cutleries, and mixed/unsegregated waste from the festivities.
“To all the visitors and residents, as we celebrate this year’s Panagbenga, we all must be mindful of our waste. Celebrate responsibly, leave no mess behind,” a PIO post reminded.
