‘We have lessons to learn,’ says Tribu Silak manager
ILOILO City – The Iloilo City National High School (ICNHS) has accepted the outcome of its Tribu Silak in the recently concluded 2024 Dinagyang Festival’s tribes competition.
Tribu Silak did not win the championship or secure runner-up placement despite bagging three technical and special awards. The judges deducted points from the tribe’s overall score for not adhering to the rules, particularly in the measurements of props and sets.
On Monday morning, Jan. 29, ICNHS principal Alpha Java, who also served as the tribe manager, broke her silence.
“To our ICNHS community, sponsors, and supporters, thank you for believing in us. We apologize for not meeting your expectations, but I pray that we will have the heart to accept our defeat, as this is not the end of the world,” said Java in a statement.
Tribu Silak was declared Best in Choreography and Best in Performance. It also won the People’s Choice Award.
“We have lessons to learn and must move forward with God’s love and protection,” according to Java.
The awards Tri bu Silak got, she added, were manifestations of ICNHS’s unity.
Java also acknowledged their choreographer, Ramil Cencia Huyatid, whom she considers the best in town.
In an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo, Java expressed her belief that it was not their time to win and reiterated her respect for the decision of the judges.
She emphasized more on the importance of having delivered a good performance to Dinagyang spectators, citing the positive feedback that Tribu Silak got.
She encouraged everyone to move on, highlighting that there are many more activities to focus on in their school.
The failure of Tribu Silak to win any major award, despite the three technical and special awards they received, caused surprise and mixed reactions. This was particularly notable as they were one of the two tribes that won multiple awards. The other tribe, Tribu Ilonganon from Jalandoni Memorial National High School in Lapuz district, finished as the second runner-up, securing Best in Discipline, Best in Sadsad, and Best in Costume Design and Headdress awards.
Tribu Pan-ay from Fort San Pedro National High School in the City Proper district emerged as the champion in the 2024 Dinagyang tribes competition, receiving only one special award for Best in Music.
Professor Eric Divinagracia, the artistic and creative director of the Dinagyang Tribes Competition 2024 of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI), explained that Tribu Silak’s violation of the size limits for props, particularly a crow prop that exceeded three feet in dimensions, resulted in points deduction. Each judge deducted 10 points from the tribe’s overall score.
Approximately 20 judges were hired by the committee to assess the performances of eight competing tribes across four judging areas: Freedom Grandstand, Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Mabini-Delgado, and Quezon-Ledesma./