Harvesting Tourism: How the Strawberry Festival Brings Growth to La Trinidad

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—Among the 13 municipalities in Benguet, La Trinidad is known as the “Strawberry Capital of the Philippines.” Each March, the municipality holds its Strawberry Festival. This year, La Trinidad celebrates the 2026 Strawberry Festival with the theme “Limitless La Trinidad: Heart, Harvest, Harmony!” honoring the hard work of local farmers and showcasing the importance of the strawberry industry to the town’s economy and identity. The festival also highlights the province’s rich agricultural heritage.

Many towns promote one product that represents them. In La Trinidad, that product is the strawberry. The Strawberry Festival in Benguet was established in 1981 by Mayor Hilarion “Abe” Pawid to encourage local farmers to shift from vegetable farming to strawberry production. It was officially known as “La Trinidad: Panaspulan,” which means a cultural gathering. The strawberry also carries a history in the region.

In the 19th century, when Spain ruled the Philippines, they first brought strawberries to the valley. In 1898, Spain gave control of the Philippines to the United States. During the American period from 1900 to 1940, strawberries were reintroduced to provide a steady supply for American settlers’ salads. This shows that strawberries in the area are not just fruit but also have a history linked to the country’s colonization.

In 1981, the La Trinidad Strawberry Festival was formally organized to diversify the local economy and promote the strawberry industry. The festival gained fame in 2004 when it made the largest strawberry shortcake in the world, setting a Guinness World Record. The cake weighed about 9,622 kilograms and served over 10,000 people. In 2011, the festival was officially institutionalized through a municipal ordinance, ensuring its celebration every March.

The festival will run for a month, from March 4 to April 1, 2026, featuring activities led by the local government and the community across various venues. La Trinidad Municipal Mayor Roderick Awingan said, “If we are celebrating strawberry as a festival, we are also celebrating as a community. At the same time, this is a community festival. This activity was conceptualized so that there will be harmony and unity among all the constituents.” He added that it is also important to the municipality’s economic development strategy.

The municipality aims to hold a community event that fosters unity while contributing to economic growth. The festival helps local strawberry farmers promote strawberries as a product and byproduct. Mayor Awingan encourages younger generations to join the strawberry farming industry, highlighting the economic opportunity it provides as local farmers are not expanding. He also said this is one reason why La Trinidad continues to improve the festival each year.

The modern festival includes activities such as the Strawberry Lane trade fair, street dancing, float parades, and competitions for the “sweetest and heaviest” strawberries. La Trinidad Tourism Officer Valred Olsim said that while this is a community event, it is also a tourism event. The LGU opens preliminary activities and highlights the commercial trade fair, partnering with other trade fairs to allow community business owners to have stalls at the La Trinidad Public Market. This is how the municipality promotes tourism during the Strawberry Festival.

Residents and visitors are invited to join the festival this month. The Office of the Government Agriculture hosts Strawberry Lane in front of the Municipal Hall, while additional commercial trade fair activities are organized by BUMESKA Events and the La Trinidad Business and Trade Industry. Community-led activities and grand events by the LGU are also featured.

Local Government Unit-led activities:

• March 13, 2026 – Search for the Heaviest and Sweetest Strawberries, 9:00 AM, Municipal Grounds

• March 14, 2026 – Jobs Fair, 8:00 AM, Municipal Gym
         – Battle of the Bands, 4:00 PM, Municipal Gym

• March 18, 2026 – Civic Parade and Main Program, 6:00 AM, KM6 – Municipal Hall
         – Owik Tan Tayao & Multi-Cultural Celebrations, 8:00 AM, Municipal Hall

• March 20, 2026 – Concert at the Park, 4:00 PM, Municipal Park

• March 21, 2026 – Drum and Lyre, Street Dancing, and Float Parade, 8:00 AM, KM6 – Municipal Hall
         – Mister and Miss La Trinidad Pre-Pageant, 6:00 PM, Municipal Gym

• March 25, 2026 – Barangay Night, 5:00 PM, Municipal Gym

• March 28, 2026 – Dongba ni Kavaljo, 9:00 AM, Wangal

• March 29, 2026 – Strawberry Cake Fest, 9:00 AM, Municipal Gym

• March 31, 2026 – Mister and Miss La Trinidad Coronation Night, 6:00 PM, Benguet Sports Complex Gym

• April 1, 2026 – Closing Program, 9:00 AM, Municipal Gym

“We’d like to invite our community to participate in all activities because, at the end of the day, the Strawberry Festival was created as a community event,” Mayor Awingan said. “At the same time, we also want visitors to come to La Trinidad. It is worth visiting for our strawberries, activities, and everything else in La Trinidad, including the people, the farms, and the town itself."

Happy Strawberry Festival, kakailyan! 

by Jonalyn Jurl B. Teliaken | March 12, 2026

Marcos admin bolsters education resilience with more disaster-ready classrooms in Davao

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 





TAGUM CITY, 17 March 2026 —The Department of Education (DepEd) spearheaded the delivery of new Learning Continuity Spaces (LCS) at the Davao del Norte Regional Sports Academy, expanding on the successful installations in Masbate and Bogo City.



The project aligns with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that the delivery of quality education remains uninterrupted.



This initiative directly addresses the recurring problem of damage to school infrastructure following natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes, which halt student learning.



To solve this, DepEd is deploying modular, durable, and rapidly deployable units that serve as immediate learning environments while permanent classroom repairs are underway.

 



"We are implementing these Learning Continuity Spaces to ensure that learning continues under any circumstance, as we fulfill the vision of President Bongbong Marcos for a resilient Bagong Pilipinas,” Secretary Sonny Angara said.



“Through this initiative, the President’s support ensures that education remains a top priority even in the face of adversity."



At the Davao del Norte Regional Sports Academy in Tagum City, DepEd unveiled two structural models: an elevated model valued at PhP1.75 million for flood-prone areas and a slab-on-ground model worth PhP1.5 million for stable sites.



Each climate-resilient unit can accommodate up to 45 learners and is specifically engineered with enhanced features like storm guards to better withstand strong winds.



The project was fully funded by DepEd, while the provincial government of Davao del Norte supported the rollout by providing buildable space through a usufruct agreement.



President Marcos together with Secretary Angara earlier inspected the new modular LCS units in Bogo City and Masbate which were deployed to solve critical classroom shortages following recent natural disasters.



As part of a broader nationwide strategy, DepEd is targeting to install 1,380 LCS units across the country under the 2026 Disaster Preparedness and Response Fund to bypass traditional construction delays and provide immediate relief to high-risk areas.



While these modular spaces provide an agile solution for disaster-affected schools, DepEd remains committed to its long-term program of constructing permanent classrooms nationwide.

Cebu mass promotion ends decades of teacher career stagnation

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 





CEBU CITY, 16 March 2026 — For 57 aging educators in Cebu, the “Teacher 1” label that had defined their entire professional lives finally disappeared on Monday— just before they were set to end their service for good.



They were among the 3,325 dedicated teachers and school heads from across the province who took their oaths of office in a mass promotion ceremony at the IEC Convention Center Cebu, marking a decisive end to the systemic promotion delays that have long plagued the country’s education system.

The event, witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, served as a direct response to the President’s directive to dismantle the promotion ceiling that forced many Filipino teachers to retire at the same entry-level rank they held as new hires.



To address this, the Department of Education (DepEd) has accelerated the implementation of the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) system under the President’s Executive Order No. 174 s. 2022. The new policy ensures that promotion is no longer vacancy-based but triggered by a teacher’s actual proficiency and merit.



Education Secretary Sonny Angara, who administered the oath to the newly-promoted educators, emphasized that the promotion of the 57 retirable personnel under ECP was not a mere gesture of gratitude but a long-overdue recognition of their unwavering dedication to the country’s youth.



"Following the clear mandate of President Bongbong Marcos to ensure no teacher is left behind, we are ensuring that excellence is rewarded and that no educator is left behind in their professional journey," Angara said. “This ceremony validates our commitment to providing every educator a clear, merit-based path upward, ensuring their professional growth reflects their true value to the nation.”



The mass promotion covers all 44 municipalities in Cebu, providing a significant morale boost to the province’s teaching force. For those nearing retirement, the rank adjustment means not only a long-overdue sense of dignity but also a substantial increase in their retirement benefits.



During the event, the teachers also had access to on-site training and health services through the Technological Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and YAKAP Caravan booths that were set up outside the venue.



The oath-taking ceremony forms part of DepEd’s broader effort to promote 100,000 teachers within the year— directly supporting the 5-Point Reform Agenda’s pillar on strengthening the education workforce system.



The event follows successful mass promotions across the country led by President Marcos with Secretary Angara, including for 789 teachers in the Ilocos Region; 2,915 in the National Capital Region; and 1,991 in Central Luzon.