Residents here celebrated the town’s 166th founding anniversary for the last time on Sunday with various activities.

By next year, Carmona will be officially categorized as a “city” after having completed the requirements for cityhood.

Sunday’s celebration carried the theme, “Direct Access to Healthy Lifestyle Intervention and Advocacy’ (DAHLIA) 2023,” with activities organized by the municipal information, tourism, health and cultural offices.

A Zumba dance session was held at the CarSiGMA (Carmona-Silang-General Mariano Alvarez) Gymnasium in Barangay Lantic, joined by residents clad in various costumes.

Participants came dressed as superheroes including the Filipino heroine Darna and villains Valentina and Zuma, a ’70s rockstar, Barbie doll, Power Puff Girls, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and even the Netflix series Squid Game characters.

Other activities included a drum and lyre competition and street dancing. The festivities were participated in by around 3,000 residents.

In an interview, Dr. Homer Aguinaldo, Carmona’s Municipal Health Officer, said the theme was “conceptualized by the Department of Health, adopted by Carmona LGU.”

He said the program was named after Mayor Dahlia Loyola.

Aguinaldo commended the participants from the school, community, private and public sectors, particularly the municipal employees who worked hard to ensure the success of the events.

He said they are happy to be able to again celebrate the occasion face to face after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, but they are looking forward to a bigger celebration next year, considering that Carmona would be a city by then.

Among the cityhood requirements that have been met by this town are having a population of more than 300,000 and an annual income of PHP50 million. (PNA)