BIBAK-BC 30th Leadership Turnover
It was a bright and hot day in the beginning of July, not much hotter than the previous week thank the Lord, however the sun was still beating down.
Luckily we had the set up in the shade, and as the morning grew to a close into the afternoon, the Igorot folk came and join the rest of the kailians who had already made it in the cool under the trees.
It was the 30th BIBAK-BC leadership turnover and quite the occasion to be had as it was the very first time we were able to fully meet and gather.
The buzz and commotion of laughter’s and “anya ngay” filled the sharp summer heat as each one greeted each other not unlike how one would greet pre-March of 2020. It was a heart warming reunion that was not unlike the warmth of the grass beyond the shade of the willow tree that stood above the tent that held the sign BIBAK-BC.
Here are the pictures documenting the events of the day:
Greetings were held by Reverend Arvin Amayag and the welcome address by Uncle Bruce Ganase following the acknowledgement of the Traditional Territories and the land Acknowledgement of Indigenous Land with which we stand on. We then sang the National Anthem led by one of the Youth Coordinators Dwayne Berto After that was the precession of the Balangbang led by the BIBAK elders which really kicked off the day.
Some games were played which highlighted the uniqueness of each provinces and lunch was served followed with further fellowship.
After lunch, each province featured their different dances. First was Benguet with the improvised version of the Bendian, this was followed by the Dinuya Manayoh by the folks from Ifugao. Mt. Province again performed the Balangbang but this time led by the youth. Abra was represented by the courtship dance Pinalaiyan performed by Julius and Kems. Apayao and Kalinga also performed their featured unique dances.
The retired PBG Jimmy Almora Catanes was in our midst who was our honourable guest speaker. His speech punctuated by the (very) outgoing BIBAK-BC President Pablo Wigwigan’s very special number in which he spoke his departing words of his tenure as the former BIBAK-BC President.
The rest of the pictures are various congratulates that have received their honours and acknowledgements for their service in BIBAK and we cannot wait to have more.
“Today, the BIBAK gathering was really refreshing especially after many months of quarantine. My loving kailian was really welcoming. At the gathering I’ve met some amazing youth and adults that I was able to connect with that made the day more amazing.”
— Ainslee Pihoc
Agyamanak! Salidumai! Oooway! Adivay!
