ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo City Council has approved an ordinance regulating the usage of words and phrases linked to the Dinagyang Festival, the city’s biggest annual festival in honor of the Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus).

The regulation of the ordinance authored by City Councilor Plaridel Nava specifically focuses on the word “Dinagyang.”

Nava crafted the ordinance after several controversial activities linked to the Dinagyang.

One of the recent events in which participants thought was part of the official activities of the 2023 Dinagyang Festival was the 2023 duathlon competition in January.

Nava decried how Dinagyang was unscrupulously misused and abused for ‘money-making ventures.’

The ordinance also regulates the phrase of “Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu,” which refers to the religious image being venerated.

Even Ilonggos are unaware that the image being venerated during the Dinagyang is a replica image that came from Cebu and was given as a gift to the parish priest of San Jose Parish Church.

The church suggested adding the phrase “de Cebu” to “Senior Sto. Niño” as a means of differentiating it to the other image of the Holy Child Jesus.

The ordinance stipulates that any organizer who wants to use the word ‘Dinagyang’ in activities must get permission from the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI) or any accredited foundations recognized by the Iloilo City government.

Failure to do so can lead to imprisonment and a penalty fee of not more than P5,000.