It was indeed a jubilant celebration of Cordova’s 25th Dinagat Festival as the Cebu Provincial Government joined in the festivities by allocating P17.85 million in assistance for the town’s socio-cultural activities and infrastructure development.
“Nakita nako ang matinud-anon gyod nga paningkamot ug ang nakanindot kay nagkahiusa ang tanan. Ipadayon nato kining maong panaghiusa kay mao kana ang yabe sa paglambo. We are seeing good governance here in Cordova,” Gov. Gwen Garcia said in her speech at the Centennial Road Avenue, venue of the festival showdown.
The festival showcase was participated by 13 contingents from all of Cordova’s 13 barangays. Each contingent received a whooping P550,000 assistance from the Capitol to help them defray the cost of expenses.
Of the P550,000 subsidy for each of the 13 competing contingents, P250,000 comes from the Office of the Governor while the offices of sixth district Board Members Jonkie Ouano and Glenn Soco contributed P150,000 each.
Moreover, Gov. Gwen announced that the Capitol has also earmarked P5 million for the town’s socio-cultural expenses, and another P5.7 million has been set aside for the improvement of the Cordova Sports Complex.
Mayor Suan, who performed the opening number of the ritual showdown as he was also celebrating his birthday, expressed his gratitude to the Governor for her unwavering support to the town and all Cordovanhons.
The annual Dinagat Festival is held in honor of town patron San Roque. Derived from the Visayan term for the sea, Dinagat reflects the rich fishing tradition and way of life of the Cordovanhons. | Babie Jane Revecoy