IT WAS Iloilo Dinagyang Festival 22 years ago. Yes, not many knew that in 2001 I was the festival manager.
How did that come about?
When SM City Iloilo was still young, I persuaded my Iloilo Volkswagen Kafer Club members, where I just joined, to engage in an auto show at the parking grounds of the mall. Indeed it successfully happened.
It was the young Joemari Moriente who brought me in to the club where I became good friends with many more, especially with Raymund Montelibano who owned an air-conditioned black VW Beetle.
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Impressed with the activity, Raymund humbly shook my hand to congratulate me.
I found out that Raymund worked closely with an ally of then Iloilo City mayor Mansing Malabor. I took effort in winning him to endorse me to help organize Dinagyang 2001.
Raymund endorsed me to then city councilor Rolando Dabao and businessman Larry Jamora.
They gladly welcomed my gesture to assist them manage the festival. Lando Dabao was tasked by Mayor Malabor to chair the festival with Jamora to join him.
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I became a part of the “triangle team” Dabao-Jamora-Jimenez. It was a daily afternoon-till-evening exercise for me helping prepare the festivities, meeting the different working committee chairmen assigned to the festival tribe competition, the kiosk preparation, interested sponsors, coordinating with festival stakeholders, etc.
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Of course, the Rotarians did the successful task of taking care of the tribe competition— the financial needs, practices, etc.
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What we introduced to the festival was the control of the sponsors’ banners. I required the sponsors to send their banners to the festival office (located then at Marymart where the councilors were temporarily holding office). We made sure that sponsors get the worth of their festival support by providing them more banner spaces. We assigned them to specific locations and the number of posts where they could install their product banners. Their mileage must be worth their support. We did not want to shortchange their support.
The banners were allotted 2/3 festival branding and 1/3 corporate branding and that rule must be adhered to.
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An amusing experience was when I was driving home before midnight after our meeting with some sponsors. I caught a company installing unauthorized banners in a location intended for another sponsor.
I confiscated all the banners which were “unsigned”.
Reaching home, I decided to give out those banners to the squatters to cover the leaks on their roofs. The word of my confiscation travelled all over and that ended the plans of some who may have planned to do something similar to that company.
I had to teach them to respect the rules.
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Well, that was 22 years ago. Year 2001 was lucky for me that by the month of March I was urged to be the organizer of the national convention of big bikers (National Federation of Motorcycle Clubs Phils.) in Bacolod City.
By summer, then Bacolod City mayor Joy Valdez got me in as manager of Bacolod MassKara Festival. Surprisingly after the Bacolod festivity, I was requested by then Marikina mayor Marides Fernando to organize and manage her city’s Marikina Rehiyon-Rehiyon Festival on Immaculate Conception Day in December. The rest is history.
But I still say the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival remains to be the most exciting, thrilling, up-beating festival in the country. HALA BIRA!
Viva Señor Sto. Nino!/PN
