Tribu Ilonganon, Kahilwayan top 2007 Dinagyang Festival

PIA Press Release 2007/01/31

Tribu Ilonganon, Kahilwayan top 2007 Dinagyang Festival

Iloilo City (31 January) -- Tribu Ilonganon of Jalandoni Memorial National High School and Tribu Kahilwayan of the municipality of Sta. Barbara were the big winners in this year's Dinagyang Festival of this city.

Defending champion Tribu Ilonganon bested anew among 20 participating tribes in the ATI-competition last Sunday going home with a total of P135,000 in cash prizes and a grand champion trophy.

As the grand champion, Tribu Ilonganon won P100,000, for Best in Costume, and Performance awards at P10,000 each and an additional P15,000 from Senate President Manuel Villar.

Tribu Paghidaet was first runner-up and won the best in street dancing, best in music and best in choreography and choreographer awards. Other major winners include Tribu Ang Taga-Jaro, 2nd runner up, Tribu Silak, 3rd runner-up and Tribu Atub-Atub, 4th runner-up. Adjudged best in headdress was Tribu Molave and best in discipline was Tribu Atub-Atub.

Tribu Kahilwayan ruled out the Kasadyahan competition grabbing the championship and minor awards such as Best in Music, Best in Performance and Best in Choreography and Choreographer. In all, Tribu Kahilwayan won P135,000 in prize money.

Next to Tribu Kahilwayan in the Kasadyahan competition was Grupo Ilahas of the municipality of Cabatuan, 1st runner-up followed by Tribu Tultugan of the municipality of Masin, 2nd runner-up, Tribu Mandurrianon of Mandurriao National High School, 3rd runner-up and Tribu Saad of Leganes National high School, 4th runner-up. Grupo Ilahas and Tribu Mandurriaonon also won the best in street dancing and best in costume respectively.

During the awarding ceremony, the two winning tribes were invited by an official of the Manila Broadcasting Company, sponsor of the annual Aliwan Festival, to officially represent the Dinagyang Festival in the said event slated on April 2007 in Manila where a P1 million cash prize awaits the winner.

Last year, Tribu ilonganon was adjudged second place in the Aliwan Festival.

The Kasadyahan and the ATI competitions highlight the week-long Dinagyang Festival. Kasadyahan is a Mardi-Gras type presentation held on a Saturday while the ATI is a tribe competition on a Sunday.

The festival started from a simple procession by the devotees for Senor Sto. Nino, thirty-nine years ago and today, it has evolved into a grand and socio-cultural spectacle attracting both local and foreign tourists.

Last year, the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) chose Dinagyang as the best tourism event in the country. It was also cited by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as one of the best practices in illustrating an effective public-private partnership to ensure the success of a major annual tourism event.

Dinagyang, likewise, is the only festival officially endorsed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through its UN Habitat special project by approving the proposed project initiated by Mayor Jerry Trenas called Dinagyang and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). To ensure the implementation of the project, the UNDP has pledged P520,000 assistance. (PIA)

Cabatuan.com - Timeline 2007