Belgian ambassador, US Vice Consul to witness Dinagyang 2007
The Belgian Ambassador to the Philippines and US Vice Consul James Greg Bernstein are among the first names that cropped up in the list of dignitaries who will witness the city's yearly Dinagyang festival in honor of Señor Sto. Nino.
Belgian Ambassador to the Philippines Gregoire Vardakis and US Vice Consul James Greene are also set to grace the festival. They will also be joined by US Embassy's Cultural Affairs Officer Bruce Armstrong. However, the attendance of foreign dignitaries are subject for change prior to the celebration. The final list of foreign dignitaries comes out the day before the contest proper.
Other than the three dignitaries, a team from the United Nations is also expected to witness the celebration.
The United Nations has extended P520,000 as financial help to the city for the celebration. With the assistance comes the agreement that Dinagyang will promote the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the United Nations Development Programme. The MDG centers on the world's main development challenges such as poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender equality and to combat child mortality, AIDS and other disease.
From the national officials, PNP Chief Director General Oscar Calderon and Department of Finance (DoF) Secretary Undersecretary Robert Tan have already confirmed their attendance to the celebration. Petron's Vice President for Legal Affairs Atty. Jose Laurel also add to the list of confirmed attendees.
This year's celebration will also serve as venue for the “Donors Forum” for different international funding agencies. In the forum, Iloilo will be given the chance to present various projects that needs foreign assistance.
It is expected that some 50 representatives from international funding agencies such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The city government sees the Dinagyang as an avenue to promote Iloilo in national and international scene. The celebration was already put the city in the international tourism map as recent result of foreign tourist arrivals.