Monday, September 25,
2006 Candaba marks 1st 'Itik
Festival' By Joel P.
Mapiles
CANDABA -- "Quack, quack, quack".
Ducks sing in thousands as the 14 barangays of the Tagalog speaking
region of this bustling town celebrated the first "Itik Festival" in
Barangay Bahay Pare here.
The joy and merriment of the
festival were so obvious and seen in the faces of the thousands of
people who joined the celebration.
Hundreds
of duck raisers brought their itik (Anas Plathrhynchos Linn) -
wearing clothes of different colors - in the festival to join in
first duck race competition.
The event was organized by the
Fiesta Committee of Bahay Pare as part of the three-day fiesta
celebration in honor of patroness, Nuestra Senora Dela Merced, with
the able and full support of the local government.
The
culmination of the celebration is the much-awaited Duck Race
participated in by 84 entries from 14 barangays.
The
festival was highlighted by the colorful and boisterous duck costume
competition participated in by all duck raisers in the municipality. (The photo above shows Mayor Jerry Pelayo interviewing one of the constestants that responded with confident quacks to the delight of the crowd. Inset shows one of the glamorously dressed duck.)
This town, which claims as one of the major balot suppliers
in Pateros, is now considered as one of the centers of the
multimillion-peso duck industry in the country.
Mayor Jerry
Pelayo is optimistic that the occasion would boost the industry's
pivotal role in the economic life of the town. He noted that the
town's duck industry could be a multimillion-peso economic activity,
hence his administration is doing its best to help the duck raisers
in the production and marketing of ducks and their eggs.
Pelayo stressed that the "Itik Festival" only shows and
assures all duck raisers and buyers that the fowls are free from any
deadly virus, particularly the one that causes bird flu.
In
spite of this, the Municipal Government's Iwas Bird Flu Task Force
is doing a continuous monitoring and inspection to all the poultries
in the region to always keep the town free from any dreaded disease.
The task force is also doing a constant
information-education and communication campaign that tackles the
questions on how to protect ducks and humans from the bird
flu-causing virus; how to prevent contamination; and how to deal
with a suspected case of bird flu.
(September 25, 2006
issue) Write letter to the editor. Click
here. Join the Sun.Star message board. Click
here.
Hundreds
of duck raisers brought their itik (Anas Plathrhynchos Linn) -
wearing clothes of different colors - in the festival to join in
first duck race competition.