In Ormoc City
TACLOBAN CITY – For the fifth time, STI College Ormoc has been declared the grand champion of the Piña Festival ritual dance competition, held on Sunday (June 23) at the Ormoc City Sports Complex.
The STI-Ormoc ‘Pundok sa Nagkahiusang Ormocanon’ contingent outperformed other dance ritual groups from various barangays and schools in the city. They won P500,000 and also secured the titles of best in street dancing, best in graphic design, and best choreographer.
The Piña Festival street dancing event started at Robinsons Place Ormoc and concluded at the Ormoc City Sports Complex.
The cash prize and trophy were awarded by Ormoc City Fiesta committee chair Jude Abenoja, Piña Festival and Ormoc Festival and Cultural Foundation chairman Estrella Pangilinan, Vice Mayor Toto Locsin Sr., and members of the city council.
Brgy. Ipil’s ‘Pundok Madasigon’ was declared the first runner-up, winning P450,000, while Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU)-Ormoc ‘Pundok Sidlakan’ was adjudged the second runner-up, taking home P425,000.
Other contingents were awarded a P375,000 consolation prize.
These included Western Leyte Colleges ‘Pundok Kasadpan’, Brgy Don Felipe Larrazabal’s ‘’Hamtatamsi, Brgy Linao’s ‘Pundok Mapasalamaton’, and St. Aloysius Institute of Technology’s ‘Pundok sa Pamilyang Aloysians.’
Special award winners included EVSU for best in costume, Brgy Linao for best float and audio van and second place in street dancing, and Brgy Don Felipe as third place in street dancing.
In the festival queen competition, Pundok Kasadpan’s Amehan Gonzales was declared the 2024 Piña Festival Queen.
She also won Miss Photogenic, Best Festival Queen Gown, and Best in Solo Performance.
The first runner-up was Princess Navarro of Brgy Ipil’s Pundok Madasigon, and the second runner-up was Monette Paula Mancol of Brgy Don Felipe Larrazabal’s Hamtatamsi. Best in Group Production was awarded to Pundok Mapasalamatun.
The Piña Festival, which started in 2017, is the city’s way of paying homage to the countless blessings and goodness showered upon them by God through the intercessions of their patron saints, Peter and Paul. The festival also celebrates the bountiful harvest of Queen’s pineapples, the city’s second-largest agricultural product after sugarcane.
The city is celebrating its fiesta on June 28 and 29. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
