JAEN, Nueva Ecija – No glamorous stars. No extravagant displays. Only massive social and spiritual services.
The municipal government headed by Mayor Atty. Sylvester Austria veered away from extravagant preparations for this year’s festivities in honor of the town’s patron St. Augustine in consideration of the recurring oil crisis brought about by the Middle East conflict.
The festivities, in the previous years, featured parade of a lone line of showbiz stars and community party. Dubbed as Manggulay Festival, this town being the major mango and vegetable producer in Nueva Ecija, it previously featured inter-village cooking competition.
“Ito ay simple at payak pero makabuluhan at kapaki-pakinabang. Instead, po na gumastos tayo nang malaki para kapistahan ng ating bayan ay dito na lang natin dinadala,” Austria said referring to the day-long medical, dental, circumcision and wellness services on May 4.
In order to avoid huge gas expenses on the part of the residents, Austria explained, the 27 villages of this second-class municipality were clustered into four so the services were simultaneously conducted in St. Augustine Parish Church in the town proper, Ulanin-Pitak Elementary School, Sto. Tomas North Elementary School, and Pamacpacan Elementary School.
The wellness services included free massage and grooming such as free haircut, manicure, and pedicure.
Optical services were also extended to patients at St. Augustine Parish.
“Gumastos man tayo pero mas makikinabang ang ating mga kababayan,” Austria said. “Hinati-hati po natin sila para po ‘yung ating mga kababayan ay hindi na pupunta dito sa bayan. Naglagay tayo sa mga dulo na sentro ng iba’t ibang areas,” he explained.
On Friday, three Masses are set to be held at St. Augustine Parish Church, he said.
