Telecom firms reduce sponsorships for Dinagyang '08
Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) chair Lee Chuan said the foundation suffered financial setback after sponsorships coming from two telecommunication firms Smart and Globe have reduced. The two companies pledged to give sponsorship of P1,250,000 each.
Chuan said in previous years the two firms gave from as high as P8 million in form of sponsorship. For 2007, it drastically reduced to P1,250,000. The financial capacity of the foundation worsened when the two companies only made their final commitment recently, Chuan said.
He said the pledges were only confirmed after the foundation already made their commitment to give financial assistance to the 15 competing tribes amounting P3,025,000.
The activities which are deemed important in the holding of the annual festival are placed in the priority list of the foundation. Chuan, who is serving in the foundation for more than 28 years is confident that they will survive the financial crisis they are experiencing. They will do everything to make the affair successful.
On his part, IDFI executive director Ben Jimena explained that Smart and Globe Telecommunications shifted their promotional strategy. They would rather pour out their sponsorships in game shows rather than in the different festivals in the country.
Jimena said they were told that the two companies are assured of their return of investment through text messages. Like Chuan, Jimena is also confident that the financial needs of the foundation will be addressed. "Sto. Niño never leaves us, he has been helping us through the years and even in calamities," they said.