Dinagyang Banned from competing in Sinulog Festival 2008?

I have learned of the news that the Dinagyang Foundation will be sending a tribe in Cebu City to compete in the 2008 Cebu Sinulog Festival since November when I wasn in Bacolod during the Western Visayas Tourism Assembly.

Everything has already been ironed out. The selected tribe is already rehearsing their routine. Filipino Fast food chain Jolibee has already pledged to shoulder the expenses of the tribe going to the Queen City of the South. And everybody’s already excited to see Dinagyang perform in one of the country’s largest festivals.

But I was so surprised to learn the news that we will no longer be able to see the Dinagyang warriors nor hear their drumbeats in Cebu, as the Sinulog Foundation did not allow them to join the festivities. I was able to talk to Mr. Ben Jimena, the City Tourism Officer of Iloilo City and the Executive Director of the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, and he said he himself has no idea as to why Sinulog Foundation members will not allow the Dinagyang to compete in Cebu.

Mr. Jimena even said that Jolibee has even asked the Sinulog organizers to allow Iloilo’s biggest festival to just perform as a guest, but still the Sinulog Foundation is hard on its decision not to allow the Dinagyang Festival perform in Sinulog.

But why? Is Sinulog afraid and insecure of the Dinagyang Festival? Is this rift still has its roots on the Aliwan Fiesta’s so-called biased judging? Is this because of the fistfight that happened in April in Santiago City between the dancers of Lumad Basakanon of Sinulog and the Tribu Ilonganon of Dinagyang? I hope that this is not because of the regional pride.

It is still very unclear to my why Sinulog would not allow Dinagyang to perform in Cebu as a gesture of thanksgiving to the Santo Niño. I just hope that the Cebu Sinulog Foundation can shed light to this incident. The people of Iloilo deserves an explanation.