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[av_heading heading=’With Mabilog gone, will Du30 grace Dinagyang? ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, November 7, 2017
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ILOILO City – The city government is inviting President Rodrigo Duterte to grace Dinagyang Festival this January 2018.
Following a call from the Office of the President, Mayor Jose Espinosa III expressed optimism that the invitation would be accepted.
The appointment office in Malacañang called on Nov. 3 and asked for details about the Dinagyang, Espinosa revealed yesterday.
“They want us to reiterate our verbal invitation initially coursed through Presidential Assistant for Visayas Michael Dino,” said Espinosa.
Espinosa’s predecessor, Jed Patrick Mabilog, invited Duterte to grace this year’s edition of Dinagyang but the President turned it down.
Duterte accused the then mayor of being a drug protector.
Espinosa said the city government would be preparing a written invitation for the President.
“We will send it immediately,” said Espinosa.
That the Palace’s appointment office responded to the verbal invitation meant “there is a possibility” that the President would come, said the mayor.
“If the President comes, this will be the first (time) a sitting President of the Republic of the Philippines will be joining us for the Dinagyang. In the 50 years of Dinagyang, no president has ever attended. Kabay pa maka-abot gid ang President sa aton,” said Espinosa.
In Jan. 29, 2006, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo actually graced Dinagyang. She attended the mass at the San Jose Parish Church held prior to the ati tribes competition at Freedom Grandstand. The mayor then was Jerry Treñas (now congressman), Espinosa’s brother-in-law.
Though Duterte did not attend Dinagyang 2017, he had a message to the people of Iloilo City published in Panay News.
“I join the people of Iloilo City in honoring your patron, Señor Sto. Niño, as you celebrate this year’s Dinagyang Festival,” read part of the President’s message.
According to the President, Dinagyang underscored “our unshakeable faith in the Child Jesus and our warmth and enthusiasm as Filipinos demonstrated through the parade of dances and songs.”
The President described Iloilo the “most shabu-lized” in August last year, referring to shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride, a popular illegal drug. He made no mention of it in his 2017 Dinagyang message.
Last month, the Office of the Ombudsman sacked Mabilog for “serious dishonesty.” It said the then city mayor failed to explain the P8.9-million increase in his net worth from 2012 to 2013.
According to the President, Dinagyang was a “celebration of the famed Ilonggo hospitality that forms part of the vibrant Filipino spirit.”
He congratulated the Ilonggos “for adding their contribution to the landscape of the country’s celebrations by making Dinagyang a much awaited religious and cultural event.”
He described as “truly uplifting” the various schools competing, “dancing and moving in patterns; accented by chants and energized drum beats; and infused by an inherent solemn observance of the Christian faith.”
But more importantly, he stressed, Dinagyang was “an invitation to see the world through the eyes of the child – with hope amid despair; with clarity instead of doubt; and with pure wonder instead of resignation to the temptation of darkness and fear.”
Dinagyang is Iloilo City’s version of the Ati-atihan celebrations widely observed not only in Panay Island but also in other parts of the country. It may not be as ancient as the one in Kalibo, Aklan but it is known more for the participants’ impressive choreography and striking costumes that reflect the ingenuity, craftsmanship and artistry of the Ilonggos.
Highlights of the festivity are on Jan. 26, 27 and 28, 2018./PN
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