A city lawmaker has proposed to make Everlasting as Baguio’s official flower, liking the flower’s longevity and resiliency to that of the country’s summer capital.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda filed the proposed ordinance last November 23 and it was approved on first reading on December 11, more than three decades after the city government adopted Everlasting as its official flower in 1991.

The proposed ordinance will give the earlier resolution more teeth, symbolizing how the city thrives amidst any problems, and hopefully will encourage more people to prefer the flower over other varieties for leis and brooches.

In an interview Friday, Tabanda said the city has endured many challenges, the biggest of which is the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1990, but the local economy continues to bloom and flourish.

“Like the garland of everlasting, Baguio and its people stand strong, intertwined by common aspirations and embody the unique charm of Baguio,” according to the ordinance.

Tabanda said the flower, which has different colors such as golden yellow, pink, orange, violet, brown, red, and ivory white and is made into a garland for offering at altars and leis during graduation rites, also represents the rich culture of the city.

Rosalia See, an employee at the Baguio City Hall, said she gets to receive several Everlasting leis during the recognition ceremony at the closing of the school year as a present for her school achievements.

“It was hung on my neck every year and the one that I got the year before is given to another family member like an inheritance passed on to the next generation,” she told the Philippine News Agency on Friday.

The Everlasting flower lasts long and remains beautiful either fresh or dried grows best in full sun and thrives best in high altitudes, adapting to local conditions. (PNA)