Hearing the remarks of
Ms. Fullido, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla was quick to say
that only the first two winners will join the Aliwan this year.
Knowing how much is spent in bringing festival contingents to Metro
Manila, it is no wonder that the Governor, who runs the Provincial
Government of Leyte, the way he runs his lucrative family business,
had a ready reply.
Ms. Fullido is a
familiar face in the Pintados-Kasadyaan annual festival because she
comes every year, a ready letter in hand to invite the winners of the
Festival.
This year’s festival
championship trophy went once again to Abuyog,
Leyte’s Buyugan Festival, one time Aliwan Festival Champion and
Sinulog Festival Champion.
Coming in as the first
runner up is Dulag, Leyte’s Karatong Festival which won fourth place
in the Aliwan Festival 2009. The second runner up trophy was awarded
to the Viajedores Festival of
La Paz,
Leyte.
The third runner up in
this year’s festival is the Pasaka Festival of Tanauan, Leyte while
the Pinilipig Festival of Sta. Fe, Leyte was awarded the fourth
runner-up trophy.
Nine festivals
participated in this year’s spectacular Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival
which never fails to make Leytenos proud of their rich culture.
Among the seven
Pintados tribes, the championship award was presented to the Tribu
SPAS Tanauan which is a community youth group in Tanauan,
Leyte. The second place went to Tribu Buskada while the third
place was bagged by the Kasiruman.
Per the permit granted
by the City of Tacloban, the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival street
dancing parade started right after the
7:30 in the morning mass at the
Leyte Sports
Development Center.
For the first time in
the Pintados Festival’s 24 years of existence and in the Kasadyaan
Festival’s 15 years of existence, the city of
Tacloban
only allowed them to take the route only until
Burgos Street
for reasons that the three other main streets will be used by the
City’s Sikad-sikad race.
Despite such
predicament, the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival parade was just as if not
more spectacular as in the past years. Only allowed to use one lane of
the narrow Burgos Street, the organizers led by Mayor-elect Remedios
Petilla who is the chairman of the festivities this year and the
youthful Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, lauded the spectators who
provided enough space to the participants to do their street dancing.
The spectators did
not complain despite the heat of the sun and the inconvenience caused
by the narrow streets and spaces in the routes.
