BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 12) — Roman Catholic Most Rev. Bishop Carlito Cenzon urged the City Council to grant formal and legal authority to his group, which will spearhead and manage the Panagbenga celebrations next year. The council, however, did not act on the bishop’s letter in its session Monday.

Cenzon’s move came in the middle of a sticky situation where, he said he is caught between two contending parties, that he did not want to work under (their) pressure.

“In representation of the fervent wish and desire of the people of Baguio City for a successful staging of just one Panagbenga,” the Cenzon letter said, he took the courage to forward his proposal to the council.

Cenzon’s Executive Management Group (EMG) takes center stage by uniting feuding groups for the management of Panagbenga. He is the chair of the said 2006 EMG.

The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) initiated by Baguio Congressman Mauricio Domogan and former city Mayor Bernardo Vergara and Baguio Flower festival Association (BFFA), the group supported by Mayor Braulio Yaranon have been in a tug-of-war for the management of the flower festival.

In his letter to the City Council dated December 10, Cenzon proposed that the EMG be a fully autonomous group and directly answerable to the city government only. The EMG also proposed to organize itself as an effective group for the celebration and choose its members from civic society who are expert and dedicated towards a successful celebration.

The Bishop also requested the City government to make government resources available for the group.

“That it (EMG) be accorded the power to make recommendations to the City Government as to the appropriation of the final proceeds of the flower festival,” Cenzon’s letter read.

Meanwhile, Yaranon claims the proceeds from the past Panagbenga festivals are still unaccounted by the BFFFI despite his moves for the BFFFI to clarify funding of the past celebrations. There are allegations that the past Panagbenga had been a milking cow by some politicians involved in the yearly celebrations.

Yaranon claimed in a statement that the BFFFI failed to submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a statement of fund application detailing the sources of funds, including the beneficiaries of the funds. He also asked the Commission on Audit to check on the financial reports.

Yaranon also claimed past public officials disbursed an amount totaling P20 million without authority from the BFFFI board. He added that P50,000 or more was released to public officials as “honoraria.” The City Government had extended P4.4 million as financial assistance to the BFFFI in 2003 and 2004, which Yaranon requested to be refunded to the city.

As this developed, City Budget Officer Leticia O. Clemente told NORDIS that as chair of the Committee on Ways and Means in the 2003 and 2004 Panagbenga festivals, she had submitted the financial reports to Yaranon as soon as he took the mayoralty seat She confirmed that in 2003, the city released to the BFFFI P2 million and in 2004 P2.4 million.

“The money was deposited in a Philippine National Bank account, where the original Panagbenga account was opened by the Bases Coversion Development Authority (BCDA) which used to manage the Panagbenga,” Clemente clarified. She added that proper accounting and auditing procedures were practiced in the financial management of the controversial funds.

NORDIS learned from Clemente that independent auditor Chris Ismael audited the BFFFI financial report. # Arthur L. Allad-iw for NORDIS