Story and Photos by HENRY EMPEÑO | March 12, 2026
IBA, Zambales — Motor races and other events that consume large amounts of fuel will no longer be part of this year’s Dinamulag Mango Festival in Zambales in line with President Marcos’s March 6 memorandum for government units to strictly adopt energy conservation measures.
“We have discarded some activities that will be violative of the Presidential memorandum,” Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said on Wednesday. “These include motorized races, as well as the float parade.”
The float parade, which promote the world-famous Zambales carabao (Dinamulag) mangoes and the province’s agricultural roots, provides one of the popular highlights of the annual summer festival here.
Race events, which involve dirt bikes and 4×4 off-road vehicles, meanwhile, were incorporated in the festival program in the past years to promote local lahar dune attractions and spike adventure tourism in the province.
An updated festival schedule posted by the Zambales Tourism and Investment Promotion Office on Wednesday, March 11, had delisted five events from the original program released last February.
These include the Motocross Challenge and the 4×4 Offroad Challenge that were supposed to take off on April 9 and 10; the Car Motor and Trike Show on April 9; the Zamba-Liwanag Float Parade & Competition also on April 9; and the fireworks display that should follow the float competition.
The Dinamulag Organizing Committee also compressed the festival schedule from four to three days, “mindful of directives from the national government regarding the prudent use of fuel and energy resources,” it said in an announcement.
The committee said, however, that despite the pullout of some spectacular mainstays in the festival, the remaining events will continue to “support the mango industry, promote sports, and celebrate the talent and creativity of our youth.”
Under the modified program, the 2026 Dinamulag Festival will start on April 10, Friday, with the Dinamulag Fun Run kicking off the day’s events. This will be followed by a thanksgiving mass, the Dinamulag Mango Cooking Challenge, the 3rd Governor’s Cup Shootfest and Firearms Exhibit, and Drum and Lyre Competition.
On April 11, Saturday, the Dinamulag Mountain Bike Challenge take place, followed by the Dinamulag Airsoft Competition, Mango Industry Training, Day 2 of the 3rd Governor’s Cup Shootfest and Firearms Exhibit, and the Zamba-Tuklas Talento Grand Finals.
The last day of the festival, April 12, Sunday, will feature Day 3 of the 3rd Governor’s Cup Shootfest and Firearms Exhibit.
To spice things up, festival organizers will stage special events during the three-day program. These include the Dinamulag Cooking Vlog Challenge, Zambales Tourism Vlog Challenge, Zamba-Likha Float Design Contest, which took the place of the float competition; Mango Eating Challenge, and Pinaka-Kamanggahan Contest, that will provide prizes for the sweetest mango fruit, biggest mango fruit, and the mango tree bearing the most fruits.
Pre-festival events have also been scheduled for the Zamba-Tuklas Talento talent audition for Cluster 1 covering Olongapo City to Castillejos at SM City Olongapo Central on March 14; Cluster 2 audition for San Marcelino to Cabangan towns at the San Felipe Public mall on March 21; and Cluster 3 audition for Botolan to Santa Cruz at Balin Sambali in Iba on March 22.
The Manaliw (buy) mango marketing event will also be held at SM City Olongapo Central on March 14 and 15. ▲
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