‘Hagwa-Baroto’ highlights

Bien Unido’s 42nd Fdn Day

BIEN UNIDO, Bohol, December 15 (PIA) – Eight-streetdancing contingents spilled to the streets in Bien Unido to revive a lost festival and be the centerpiece as the town celebrates its 42nd Foundation Anniversary.

Mayor Rene Borenaga, who has led the town in this year’s celebration, said this year, they are bringing back the early 2010 Hagwa Festival and adds Baroto in the billing, this year’s Hagwa Baroto hopes to be the first town festival that celebrates the devotion and adoration to the holy child and the fishing boat, and in celebrating the fisherman’s vessel.

We used to have Hagwa Festival and in fact, we joined the Sinulog Festival that year, representing Bohol, Borenaga shared.

The lowly baroto, is also the fisherman’s trusted companion every day he ventures out into the open sea, and with Bien Unido a fishing town, it is but just proper to give this honor to the boat, highlighting the resource which every town resident has to rely on in feeding their families and in helping conserve and protect the unique Double Barrier Reef and its resources, explains Bien Unido information officer Manuelito Item.

A town that keeps the extreme end of the Danajon Double Barrier Reef, one of the very few double barrier reef systems in the world, Bien Unido’s sea water teem with fish and marine produce, attracting poachers and commercial fishers using unsustainable fishing practices.

To mitigate the problem, then mayor Rey Niño Boniel submerged gigantic images of the Santo Niño and the Virgin Mary in the reef areas, Borenaga, Boniel’s sister said.

As the people are devout Roman Catholics, knowing that images of the holy child and the virgin Mary are down there, blast fishing decreased, she added.

During the 42nd Foundation Day Program, barangay folks converged at the Atty Felix Garcia Memorial Gymnasium, after the Hagwa-Baroto street dancing parade, to commemorate the town’s historic milestone.

In her commemorative message, Borenaga announced to the town that their basketball team’s campaign in the First governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado Cup 2023 ended with a third place finish.

For the honor, the team received P150,000 in cash prize and the town earned P2,000,000.00 worth of projects.

We learned that the project funds from the Provincial Government has no spending restriction, that we decided to acquire this light emitting diode (LED) board, and the two gigantic electric fans installed in this gymnasium, Borenaga pointed out.

When we used to rent for this (LED) board then, now we have this as our own, and could be very useful especially that the town is ushering in the nightly events for the town fiesta, December 29.

Also in preparation of the town nightly activities and fiesta highlights, the local organizers presented the candidates for Hermosa de Bien Unido, a beauty, brains and wit competition top-billing the fiesta nights.

Teen candidates represented the 15 barangays of the town including island barangays of Malingin, Sagasa, Bilangbilangan Daku, Bilangbilangan Diot, Hingotanan East, Hingutanan West, Pinamgo, Suba and Busalian and the mainland barangays of Liberty, Mandawa, Tuburan, Nueva Estrella, Nueva Esperanza, Poblacion and Puerto de san Pedro.

It has been quite a journey for Baha-baha and Alegria, two barangays of Talibon, to become a united town now split into 7 mainland barangays, notes Sangguniang Bayan secretary Diosdado Jimenez.

Bien Unido town is known as the seaweeds capital of Bohol, but the recent challenges in climate change has threatened the industry, and coupled with the powerful typhoons that stirred the open seaweeds farms, fishers here are struggling to get up and rise. (rahc/PIABohol)

LED VICTORY. Bien Unido’s successful third place finish in the recent Governor’s Cup earned the towns some P2M in project funds, something which the town used to acquire this gigantic LED Board, as presented during the town’s 42nd Foundation Day. (PIABohol)

RESPITE. Hagwa-Baroto Festival Dancers take a rest after the street parade while they prepare for the ritual competition which pits them against each other, with 8 dancing contingents vie for the bragging rights in the First Hagwa-Baroto Festival Champions. (rahc/PIA_7/Bohol)

PRESERVING DANAJON. Mator Rene Borenaga said the festival intends to spread awareness on the need to conserve, sustain and protect Danajon Double Barrier Reef, the town’s biggest resource. Hagwa-Baroto is the town’s second biggest initiative to protect the marine reserve, after establishing the Bien Unido Double barrier Reef. (PIAbohol)