Iloilo’s “Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan,” one of the major highlights for the 2026 Dinagyang Festival, just keeps getting better.
“I think it will be more different. It will be more competitive because they know that Maasin, the Tultugan, has elevated the standards, especially since they are the national champions. I think that is the challenge right now,” Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said in a media interview.
Defensor was referring to the Tultugan Festival of the Municipality of Maasin, which emerged as champion in the Parada ng Kalayaan 2025 Festival Performance Competition, and first runner-up in the Aliwan Fiesta 2024.
The Tultugan is set to defend its crown from eight other festivals from Iloilo that are joining the 2026 Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan, which Defensor considers the cultural stage of the province.
As part of the preparations, in September this year, the provincial government convened a two-day Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan Festival Research and Production Summit aimed at developing local festivals.
“We have declared the Kasadyahan to be the cultural stage of the province. Our commitment is that we will develop the festivals and the tribes, starting at the barangay level. It was a dance and song workshop, so that it will develop, it will become a true cultural stage or display window of the cultural heritage and the arts for the province,” he said.
The governor said they continue to work with the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. and the Iloilo City government in developing the Dinagyang Festival.
The provincial government has already agreed to let the organizers use the Iloilo Sports Complex as a venue for the final performances during the Tribes Competition and the Kasadyahan.
The Kasadyahan participants will give a glimpse of their performances during the opening salvo in the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2026.
The provincial government allotted a P2-million subsidy for each participating municipal festival.PNA
