ILOILO CITY — The province and city of Iloilo emerged victorious at the Parada ng Kalayaan (Freedom Day Parade) during the 127th Philippine Independence Day celebration on June 12 in Manila.
The Tultugan Festival of Maasin town was champion in the Festival Performance competition while the Cry of Santa Barbara float of Santa Barbara town was the first runner-up in the Historical Float Design contest.
The Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City was first runner-up in the Festival Performance competition.
Tultugan and the Cry of Santa Barbara were the official representatives of Iloilo province for the competition organized by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
Tultugan depicts the heritage and culture of Maasin anchored on its thriving bamboo industry.
The float of the Cry of Santa Barbara depicts the fight of the Ilonggos against the Spaniards despite having initially defended the colonialists.
It was also in Santa Barbara that many consider where the first Philippine flag was raised outside of Luzon following the 1898 revolution.
Dinagyang is a festival every January that honors the Santo Niño (Child Jesus).
The performance depicts the feast that followed when the folkloric Borneans entered a pact with the native settlers Ati and their eventual Christianization when the Spanish colonizers arrived.
Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. led the Iloilo delegation. He was joined by Mayor Francis “Ansing” Amboy of Maasin.