Successful festival pushes city to do more projects

THE success of the Dinagyang 2013 Festival in Iloilo City is pushing the City Government before the start of election banning to do more people-oriented development projects they can be proud of.

City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will lead a small group of city and Dinagyang foundation officials to receive the highly prestigious award from President Benigno Aquino III at Malacañang on Wednesday, January 30.

Dinagyang Festival bagged the Galing Pook Award as the best example of united efforts of public and private partnership (PPP) in pushing the festival into a national and international recognition.

Mabilog said the Dinagyang Presidential recognition is an incentive for his local administration to do more development programs and projects for the good of the city and its people.

The bidding was recently conducted for a P3.7-million drainage system project at Project 5 in Sooc, Arevalo to solve the perennial flood problem in the area. The drainage system will have to pass through a private land and the owner already allowed the project to be started before the election banning period.

Another drainage system project worth P3 million will soon be implemented in Tanza Bonifacio in the city project to solve the flooding every time there is a rain augmented by the sea high tide near the area.

Barangay Tanza Bonifacio is a densely populated area and most of the residents are relocated there.