San Juan City mayor, Francis Zamora, announced last May 5, 2023, that the city’s annual national holiday, the Wattah Wattah festival, will be canceled.
This announcement is due to the water crisis brought on by the upcoming El Niño season. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, or PAGASA, the El Niño season will begin between June to August 2023 and last until the last quarter of 2024.
While the water crisis is not yet evident, Mayor Zamora postponed the festival as a precautionary measure and to promote proper water consumption.
The Wattah Wattah Festival, or the Basaan Festival, has always been conducted yearly by the citizens of San Juan City as a celebration to commemorate the namesake of the city, Saint John the Baptist. Multiple other communities throughout the Philippines also observe this tradition.
Mayor Zamora further announced that in place of the Basaan, the city will hold the “Basbasan sa Makabagong San Juan,” which will involve the image of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint, to be paraded throughout the streets to bless the residents. This is similar to how the city celebrated the festival during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Sources: Inquirer.net, GMA News Online, and Manila Bulletin
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