Amid the ongoing Dinagyang Festival highlights, which began yesterday, January 26, and are scheduled to run throughout the weekend in Iloilo City, Mayor Jose Espinosa III heralded the news tickets for the Kasadyahan Festival and Ati Tribes competition are sold out, along with the Iloilo Hotels, Resorts, and Restaurants Association reporting city hotels are fully booked.

“Sold-out tickets [are] a manifestation that foreign and domestic tourists are eager to witness our grand celebration,” he said.

An addition to the highlights this year is the Parade of Lights contest, which takes place today, January 27, from 7:00 p.m. until midnight.

Floats are expected to depict a scene, featuring a group of people, motionless figures, or animated designs, and carry a theme in line with “Dinagyang@50: Timeless Tradition, Culture, and Devotion.”

Meanwhile, the mayor also assured security during the events.

“Our police are also ready to ensure the peace and order situation of our city,” Espinosa affirmed.

Personnel from the Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6), the Iloilo City Police Office, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Bureau of Fire and Protection, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps have been deployed to oversee festival security; along with criminology students, barangay tanods, among others.

“After several months of preparations, we are now ready to face the challenge,” assured PRO-6 director, Police Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag. “There must be zero [criminal] incidents during the event.”/PLL, WDJ