Panagbenga 2024 raises transport and overcrowding concerns for Baguio students

January 9, 2024

Baguio students express their concerns regarding transportation woes and overcrowding issues in anticipation of the upcoming Panagbenga 2024 Festival.

Reflecting from their experience during Panagbenga 2023 and the Yuletide season, students from University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB), University of Baguio (UB), University of the Cordilleras (UC), and Saint Louis University (SLU) emphasized high influx of people, especially tourists, causing heavy traffic due to private cars, and limited transportation options due to strong demand for taxis and jeepneys.

“With the city opening up even more for tourism, I think there would be a lot of people that would travel to Baguio for Panagbenga,” said UP Baguio student Joyce Estrella. “Maybe not as much as last December, considering a lot of workers/families might not have vacation periods in February, but I can see the Panagbenga events attract more crowds in the streets.”

Notably, multiple students said that the overcrowded restaurants and stalls, long waiting times, and increased prices during peak tourist seasons like Panagbenga can be attributed to high influx of people, affecting both their daily routines and the overall city atmosphere negatively. Moreover, they also said concerns about the difficulties in commuting, highlighting the increase of private vehicles as causes.

“It has been very hard for me to commute since I had to deal with heavy traffic that was caused by the large influx of tourists that brought private vehicles,” said UP Baguio student Dale Caburian. “Although it wasn’t hard to catch a jeep, I had to deal with the heavier flow of traffic caused by tourists in order to reach school on time.”

On a personal note, UB student Maxine Aratan said that the commuting experience was “excruciating,” emphasizing the long waiting line for jeepney while also recognizing the fatigue experienced in school. She also added that in cases of long waiting lines for jeepneys, some people opt for taxis, but the high demand and absence of a designated waiting area make it challenging to find one.

While ride-hailing services like Grab are an option, UP Baguio student Raphaelle Ringor said that booking a ride costs three times the value of an ordinary taxi ride. Therefore, with long jeepney lines, high taxi demand and competition, and expensive ride-hailing services, walking becomes an option, according to Baguio students.

“One of the most chaotic commuting/walking experiences was during the lantern parade of SLU, because it was held on a Friday and there was a high influx of tourists using taxis and jeepneys were nowhere to be found,” said UP Baguio student Ralph Tumaneng. “So, I have to walk to Trancoville area for me to attend our organization’s anniversary dinner.”

Despite the transport woes and overcrowding issues raised, Baguio students said that regulating the number of tourists during the Panagbenga Festival is necessary to address heavy traffic and commuting challenges.

However, during the launching of the 28th Panagbenga Festival on December 18, 2023, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the city expects around 1.9 million tourists throughout the month-long festival.