6th Tugob Festival a success

ORMOC CITY — STI College won in this year’s Tugob Festival, an annual event that highlighted Ormoc’s 68th Charter Day celebration last Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Eleven contingents represented by schools vied for the grand championship which was witnessed by over 6,000 spectators packed inside the Superdome here.

Tugob, a Visayan term for “abundance,” has been Ormoc’s festival for the past six years which serves as thanksgiving for the city’s abundant natural resources including livestock, pineapple, rice, coconut, vegetables, sugarcane, steam, sand and gravel, fish, and flower. All these resources were depicted by the contingents in the Festival.

STI College participated as Tribo Gahum Alisngaw which featured Ormoc’s rich steam fields. The contingent, sponsored by Energy Development Corp., won the judges’ approval due to the informative storyline about the role Ormoc plays as a major geothermal energy producer.

Interpreted through dance, the storyline begins with geo-scientists discovering Ormoc’s geothermal potential in the early 1970s, followed by the operation of the first steam field in the Visayas. The contingentof 100 dancers and 120 propsmen showed how the vital resource contributed to the city’s economy.

Victor Hao Cuenco who chaired the six-man board of judges, lauded the effects and musical score used by STI in winning the 200,000 grand prize. Shelu May R. Conde and Norman Judilla automatically won as best choreographers, sharing a 5,000 cash prize.

Coming in second was New Ormoc National High School (NONHS) which joined as Tribo Kahumayan (rice). Cuenco cited the contingent, consisting of 60 dancers and 133 propsmen, for its clear storyline and fast-paced choreography which won for them 190,000.