IBA, Zambales — Less spectacular shows, more fun events. This is how this year’s Dinamulag Festival would be, as the provincial government cancelled motor races and other energy-intensive events in the annual mango festival here.
“We have discarded some activities that will be violative of the presidential memorandum,” Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. explained, referring to President Marcos’s Memorandum Circular 114 directing government units to strictly adopt energy conservation measures. “These include motorized races, as well as the float parade.”
An updated festival program from the Zambales Tourism and Investment Promotion Office shows five events have been scrapped from the original schedule: Motocross Challenge and 4×4 Offroad Challenge, both previously set on April 9 and 10; Car Motor and Trike Show on April 9; Zamba-Liwanag Float Parade & Competition, April 9; and the post-parade fireworks display.
Zambales tourism manager Tel Mora said the festival schedule has been compressed from four to three days in line with national government’s energy conservation push.
The delisted events are among the popular mainstays of the annual mango festival here. The float parade, which promotes the world-famous carabao (Dinamulag) mangoes and the province’s agricultural roots, provided a spectacular display of form, lights and music, and proved to be a major crowd-drawer over the years.
Race events involving dirt bikes and 4×4 off-road vehicles, meanwhile, were incorporated in the past programs to promote local lahar dune attractions, and attracted sports and adventure enthusiasts to the festival.
Under the revised program, the 2026 Dinamulag Festival will start on April 10 and end on April 12. It will feature a fun run, mango cooking challenge, the 3rd Governor’s Cup Shootfest and Firearms Exhibit, drum and lyre competition, mountain bike race, airsoft competition, mango industry training, talent competitions, and a float design contest replacing the float competition.
The festival organizing committee has also scheduled mango-centric events to further promote the local mango industry. These include the Dinamulag Cooking Vlog Challenge, Zambales Tourism Vlog Challenge, Mango Eating Challenge, and Pinaka-Kamanggahan Contest, which will give away prizes for the sweetest mango fruit, biggest mango fruit, and the mango tree bearing the most fruits.
Pre-festival events have also been scheduled for the Zamba-Tuklas Talento auditions at SM City Olongapo Central on March 14; San Felipe Public mall on March 21; and Balin Sambali in Iba on March 22. — Taktikom News & Features
