By Restituto A. Cayubit and Marie Tonette Grace Marticio
Tacloban City – The Pasaka Festival of Tan-auan, Leyte, was proclaimed the overall champion of the Pintados-Kasadyaan festival of festivals competition last Wednesday.
The Pintados-Kasadyaan is the biggest cultural extravaganza in Eastern Visayas.
Palo, Leyte, Mayor Remedios L. Petilla, the chairperson for the event, told Manila Bulletin Pasaka won over the five contingents from Leyte and Samar.
The other participants are the Heraite Festival of Leyte town. Buraburon Festival of Burauen, Sanggutan Festival of Barugo, and Solosogi Festival of Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
Petilla said Pasaka won P750,000 as overall champion. It also won the special awards for best in dance parade with a P100,000 prize, best in festival music with P150,000 and best in festival costume with R100,000.
Buraburon was first runner up, winning P500,000, and Sanggutan was second runner up with R250,000.
The two contingents who did not win major prizes received P50,000 each as consolation prizes.
This is the first time Pasaka Festival won the Pintados-Kasdyaan. Buraburon was grand champion last year. Sanggutan took the title in 2016.
Pasaka, Buraburon, and Sanggutan will represent Pintados-Kasadyaan in the Aliwan festival in Manila, Petilla said.
Pintados-Kasadyaan will be the highlight of the Tacloban fiesta on Sunday.
Tan-auan Mayor Pel Tecson thanked the judges for believing in the town’s story of resilience.
“We were here to tell our story in Tan-auan and Leyte. We were tested by devastation during Yolanda, but we never accepted defeat. We were determined to rise back again,” he said.
Buraburon Festival Queen Cheska Mae Paminiano was crowned 2018 Bituon han Leyte. She also bagged the awards for Best in Festival Dance and Most Eloquent.
Kahren Uribe of Hiraite Festival and Aila Nicole Pacle of Pasaka won second and third place respectively.