A total of 20 participating tribes will be competing for the major awards at stake in this year’s Dinagyang Festival.

The tribes committee of the organizing Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation said the tribes competition will now compete under one category.

The twenty tribes that have confirmed to join are Tribus Silak, Angola, Atub-Atub, Pana-ad, Paghidaet, Pag-asa, Kalubihan, Aninipay, Baryohanon, Ilonganon, Himala, Pari-anon, Hamili, Halimau, San Pedro, Bantu, “Ang Taga Jaro,” Dagyaw-Ta, Familia Sagrada and Molave.

Each tribe is entitled to financial incentives provided that it has competed during the last three years. Newly-participating tribes are likewise provided with cash incentives.

Competing tribes are required to perform for ten minutes each at the four judging areas located at the Freedom Grandstand, Casa Plaza area, Quezon-Ledesma and Maria Clara Streets.

Aside from the major awards, special prizes will likewise be given for best headdress (most unique and most colorful), best in discipline, best costume, best music, best choreography and best performance.

Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said he expects a grander and better festival for 2007 as he is certain the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Incorporated will make sure that the festival will live up to the recognitions it has received this year.

The world-renowned festival has recently been named best tourism event of the year by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines, supported by the United Nations Development Program in promoting the Millennium Development Goals and cited by the Asian Development Bank as one of the best practices in illustrating an effective public-private partnership to ensure the success of a major annual tourism event. (Eireen Manikan/PIO)

Source: www.iloilocity.gov.ph