Dinagyang 2013 officially begins

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - Dinagyang 2013 started officially after the three festival organizers signed a memorandum of agreement in a ceremony held for the purpose last Tuesday (Sept. 24).

The three festival organizers that usually manage and implement this city’s premier festival are the city government, the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) and the parish of San Jose Placer.

IDFI president Ramon Cua Locsin assured the public of his group’s readiness to make Dinagyang 2013 a great event and propel it to even greater heights.

San Jose parish priest, Rev. Fr. Edsel Alcayaga, said the religious significance of Dinagyang as veneration to the Sto. Niño should not be lost in all of the pageantry of the event.

The yearly Dinagyang is held every fourth Sunday of January in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño. Its 2013 staging will be from January 25 to 27, with the much-anticipated Ati Tribes competition to be staged on the last day. — (FREEMAN)