City gov't allocates P1M budget for Dinagyang tribes
City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the city government will allocate P1 million purposely for the Association of Tribes in Iloilo (ATI). The P1 million allocation is included in the supplemental budget he proposed for the approval of the legislative body in today's regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Treñas said he will order immediately the release of P100,000 for the different tribes as soon as the supplemental budget is approved. Of the P1 million, an initial amount of P100,000 would be released to the different tribes.
The chief executive said the P1 million allocations for the tribes was made after he met with ATI head Randy Carado and other officials of the tribes association. The tribes need mobility funds for the duration of their practice and some amount for their uniforms.
The P100,000 would be the city's initial assistance to the participating tribes. The city government with the approval of the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) ruled that 100 percent subsidy would be given to tribes that performed well in the past years.
In previous years, the tribes association contested the move of the foundation in regulating the release of subsidy for the competing tribes. There are also participating tribes that receive portion of the subsidy while new tribes and tribes that have below-par performance for the past years have to look for their own sponsors to finance their participation.
Months before the Dinagyang festivity, the participating tribes started their practice and have designed their costumes. The foundation prefers the participating tribes to use indigenous materials for their costumes.
The foundation has yet to determine how many tribes will join in next year's Dinagyang tribes contest.