by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, July 9 (PIA) – The
peoples’ way of life that passes through the test of time manifests the
peoples’ dream and aspiration to keep one’s culture alive amidst obstacles and
challenges in life.
For the 29th year, the
Lami-Lamihan Festival in Lamitan City, Basilan showcased once again the
uniqueness and vibrancy of the rich culture of Lamiteños. Anchored on the theme
“Getting Better through the Preservation of Culture despite Obstacles”, this
year’s festival celebrates the successes and achievements of Lamiteños through
the years, while preserving its culture and confronting the many challenges underway.
Lamitan has all the reasons to celebrate this
year as it fought for its cityhood and finally got the nod of the Supreme Court
in 2011. As one of the 16 newly created cities, whose legality was questioned
by the League of Cities of the Philippines and the shifting decisions of the
High Court in favor or against its cityhood, Lamiteños finally celebrated its
first year anniversary of its cityhood for the second and final SC declaration
last June 18,
2012.
The upgrade from a municipality to a city early
on gave Lamitan the opportunity to boost infrastructure that paved the way to
accelerate its economic activity, while engaging people to participate in
governance and the practice of transparency.
This public trust and confidence was left
unnoticed as the city was recipient of a Civil Service Award for Good
Housekeeping. Civil Service Assistant Commissioner Atty. Rogelio C. Limare said
that after passing the two stages of the validation process, the city
government of Lamitan in Basilan obtained a numerical rating of 93.21 with a
descriptive rating of excellent in a survey conducted on September 28-30, 2011.
In a ceremony last June 19, City Mayor
Roderick H. Furigay received the seal of excellence award and cash reward of
some P75,000.00 from Atty. Limare and Director Resurreccion P. Pueyo, as
witnessed by members of the city council, city hall employees, military, police
and ARMM officials and other constituents.
The Citizen’s Satisfaction Center Seal of
Excellence is an award given by the Civil Service Commission for agencies
adherence to the requirements of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which include
the drawing up of a citizen’s charter and the posting of information of their
frontline services in billboards at the main entrance and other conspicuous
places.
In spite of these achievement, development
seems too slow to accomplish in this part of the country. Observers say the stigma
of Basilan as conflict area and under the “problematic” autonomous region of ARMM
may have hampered the needed progress of Lamitan.
Many visitors who witnessed the Lami-Lamihan
Festivals recently and in the past would agree on the vast potentials that
Lamitan has to offer in terms of tourism, which was even featured recently in a
national daily paper.
The local government is being challenged to
perform more and develop Lamitan as front-runner in progress, development, and
peace in ARMM with the growing attention that the national government and the
regional government of ARMM is giving to the city.
In this year’s 29th Lami-Lamihan
Festival, OIC ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman gave tribute to the Furigays as
initiators of the Lami-Lamihan festival, and whose offspring have continued the
tradition without let-up. Gov. Hataman underscored, however, that the Yakan
culture pave the way for the annual celebration of Lami-Lamihan that inspired
the elder Furigays to preserve and keep the culture alive through the years.
He encouraged young Lamiteños to get to know
and emulate local Yakan artists recognized for their passion in the
preservation of local culture and arts. He specifically gave tribute to the National
Commission on Culture and the Arts’ Gawad Manlilikhang Bayan recipient Uwang
Ahadas for his contribution in keeping the Yakan traditional music alive in
Lamitan and made known to the world.
Saddened that Yakan artists are not promoted
nor even given recognition by most locals, Hataman cited the role of government
and good governance as vital to cultural development. He, however, appealed to
politicians, “huwag lang gamitin ang kultura at pananamit [the Yakan traditional
attire] sa politika.”
Sound policies on tourism development and
local security are seen as key elements in attracting more investors and
tourists in Basilan. However, all these will not be viable without the strong
participation of the community and the local government units.