BALITANG REHIYONAL: San Juan's annual 'Wattah Wattah Festival' questionably expanding to its festive Binalbagan town? [#OnlyOnOneNETnews]
BINALBAGAN, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL -- Five (5) years after the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease-19 (CoViD-19) from China, city officials of 'San Juan' out of 'Mega Manila' in National Capital Region (NCR) returned to the main roots to celebrate 'Wattah Wattah Festival' (WWF) on Tuesday morning (June 24th, 2025 -- Manila local time). This was recently, in relation to a feast of 'St. John the Baptist' showering everyone to cleanse for the coming of Jesus Christ by baptizing them with water.
This year's festival is regulated under City Ordinance #14 - Series of 2025 ensuring a safer and more organized celebration for good, as long as the areas designated only in the "Basaan Zones" from 7am to 2pm. Liquor bans and outside the said zones such as dirty water are absolutely prohibited.
Here in Negros Island Region (NIR), life goes everything back to normal to celebrate fiesta with some examples in 'Bayawan, Negros Oriental' to eat food and attend lighter events like locals do. Boosting up the hype, the Binalbagan Fire Station (BFS) spewing everyone out for the annual celebration out of Mega Manila. But, things were a little bit concerning… Is it really legal to do this in Negros Occidental?
Both in 'San Juan City, Metro Manila' and in 'Barangay San Juan, Binalbagan' this said NIR province is traditionally almost the same, often community-organized events honoring its also said patron saint. We can agree to tell you that, yes, celebrations like this at WWF are completely legal.
Local government units (LGUs) located in both places have imposed strict guidelines to guarantee the safety of the people and uphold the cultural importance of the event. They are encouraged to dress suitably, observe health standards and adhere to the zones where water is splashed to avoid any possible disturbances, accidents or riots that erupted during the festive celebration.
As the 'Wattah Wattah Festival' (WWF) continues to spread out its cultural origins in San Juan City to the Binalbagan town, the Negrosanons can now enjoy the same colorful tradition without having to travel to Mega Manila in NCR and in the process bringing the festive water-splashing festival a bit nearer to their location without losing its legal and cultural heritage.
PHOTO COURTESY: BFP Region 6 - Binalbagan Fire Station via FB PHOTO
SPECIAL THANKS to Dominique Canio for contributing a news tip!
SOURCE: *https://metronewscentral.net/manila/metro-cities/san-juan-prepares-for-wattah-wattah-festival-on-june-24 *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattah_Wattah_Festival *https://www.philatlas.com/visayas/r06/negros-occidental/binalbagan/san-juan.html *https://www.facebook.com/100090017011040/posts/706588269018401 *https://www.facebook.com/100070950008262/posts/764784792563181 and *https://www.facebook.com/100095164953574/videos/1611081836548497/
-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team
