Performers from Barangay Tiptip, the grand prize winner for Saulog Tagbilaran 2023. | Photo grabbed from Tagbilaran City’s video
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The white doves of Barangay Tiptip brought home the Saulog Tagbilaran 2023 trophy and P250, 000 cash after they were named grand champions in this years competition.
Contingent no. 14 also brought home another P100, 000 cash from the five special awards – best in street dancing, best in choreography, best in production design, best in costume, and best in field performance. Each special award came with P20, 000 cash.
Barangay Poblacion 3’s festival theme performance earned them the first place and the best in musicality.
Here is the complete list of winners from Sunday’s Saulog Tagbilaran 2023 held on Sunday, April 30:
Saulog Tagbilaran , which is in honor of Sr. San Jose, the city’s patron saint that will be celebrating its annual feast today, May 1, made a comeback this year after a three year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the participating contingents during the street dancing competition. | Doris C. Bongcac
But Sunday’s festival was again hit by a minor setback. The street dancing competition started more than an hour late or at past 3 p.m. because of the afternoon downpour and the drizzle that followed. But this did not prevent people from crowding city streets as they wait for the street dancing competition to start.
But the show went on for Tagbilaran City residents and tourists who were eager to see the performance of the 15 contingents that represented the different barangays in Tagbilaran City.
After dancing on a two kilometer route around Tagbilaran City, performers then converged at the Carlos P. Garcia (CPG) grandstand for the ritual showdown.
| A performer smile at the cameras. / Doris C. Bongcac
World Class Performance
PLTCOL Regie Palis Real, chief of the Tagbilaran City Police Station, said at least 13, 000 people watched this year’s festival based on their crowd count as of 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Real said “no untoward incident happened” until the festival ended at about 10:30 p.m.
Performers pay their respective to their city’s patron saint, Sr. San Jose, during the street dancing competition for Saulog Tagbilaran 2023. | Doris C. Bongcac
In a message which he delivered ahead of the ritual showdown, Vice Mayor Adam Relson Jala said that this year’s competition was the biggest that they’ve had so far.
Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap said she was very grateful to the barangay officials and the participants for giving a “world class performance” in this year’s festival.
Tourism Attraction
Barangay Captain Jeminador Lantape of Barangay Tiptip said they based their winning performance on the white doves that are mostly found in Plaza Rizal in Tagbilaran City, which is their natural habitat.
“Nagka anam gyud kini sila og kadaghan tungod sa mga dumoduong nga magdala og pasalubong nga pagkaon,” said Lantape in a taped message which he delivered ahead of their contingent’s performance.
“Daghan ang malingaw sa maong langam kay dili sila idlas og dili lang abugon,” he added.
However, Lantape said, monitor lizards, who feast on the egg of doves, also grew in number.
“Wala dayon mabantayi sa katawhan ang pagpangawala niini kay hutdon man sa pagkaon sa hawo ang maong itlog,” Lantape said.
Performers of Tribu Tiptip. | Photo grabbed from Tagbilaran City’s video
Saving the Doves
When residents started to notice this, they initiated measures to save the doves that have been providing attractions to visiting tourists.
Lantape said residents drove away the monitor lizards with the use of bamboo sticks which made these return to their natural habitat in the mountains.
From then on, the doves in Tagbilaran City started to grew in number again.
“Agig pasalamat sa atong mahal nga patron nga si Sr. San Jose, ang Tribu Tiptipanon mo pasundayag pinaagi sa pagsayaw og pag sunod sa karakter sa usa ka langgam nga salampati. Gihatagan nila og bili, kay mao kini ang simbolo sa kalinaw og panaghiusa sa katawhan sa atong syudad,” he said.
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