‘Money is not a problem for Dinagyang 2010’
MAYOR Jerry P. Treñas said that money should not be a problem for Dinagyang 2010 and organizers should make use of the P9 million target festival budget.
This surfaced after the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation earmarked P9 million budget this year, or P3 million short from its P12 million budget last year for the city’s biggest tourist attraction celebrated every fourth week of January.
Foundation president Ricardo Andrada said that perennial business corporations, which are major festival donors every year, had slashed down its donation this year due to the global economic crisis.
He said the foundation was depending mostly on the community and the city government to prop up the festival.
Treñas said that he was depending on the foundation’s management to come up with a festival that showed off the best city practice that encompassed faith in Sr. Sto Niño and the community’s all-out participation to make Dinagyang as the biggest festival in Western Visayas and the best tourism event of the Philippines.
The city mayor said the city government was giving P5 million assistance to the festival, or P2 million more than last year’s subsidy. He said that some events which were not making money might be scrapped this year depending on the foundation’s recommendation.
On the other hand, Treñas said that he was informed that all hotel rooms in the city were now fully booked for the festival since December 2009. This clearly shows that Dinagyang is already a made festival by drawing people here early.
National politicians are also expected to come and see the Dinagyang, but are not allowed to speak at the four Dinagyang stages. (PNA)
