ILOILO City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved an ordinance regulating the use of the term “Dinagyang” in any event here.
Councilor Plaridel Nava, who authored the new measure, said the ordinance also stipulates the inclusion of the use of “de Cebu” in the name “Senior Sto. Niño” as suggested by the San Jose Parish, one of the stakeholders who joined the committee hearing conducted by the SP committee on tourism and heritage.
“According to the church, the complete name should be Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu,” he said.
The city councilor pushed the measure following his observation that “Dinagyang” has been used, misused or abused in non-city government-sanctioned events, some of which involved monetary considerations.
“Wala na sacredness ang Dinagyang which is supposed to be a revelry, a celebration… but ginagamit sa money-making ventures. So we need to regulate ang paggamit sang tinaga nga Dinagyang,” Nava earlier said.
The ordinance stated the use of the word “Dinagyang” must be regulated by the city government to protect the integrity of the annual festival.
Section 2 of the proposed measure provides that a person, group or organization intending to use the word “Dinagyang” in any event shall comply with the following requirements:
* letter of recommendation from the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) and any accredited foundations recognized by the Iloilo City Government
* disclose the nature and rationale of the event, including financial capacity in a fund-raising activity
* proof of legal personality of the applicant
Also, the city mayor or his duly authorized representative is empowered to cause the outright stoppage of any event that uses “Dinagyang” that do not comply with the requirements.
For penalties, any person who willfully violates the ordinance shall, after conviction in the appropriate trial court, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not more than one month and a fine of not more than P5,000.
If the offender is a juridical entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the officer/s of the entity who participated in the decision that led to the violation of any provision of the ordinance./PN
