The Pintaflores Festival performers of San Carlos City again won the first prize in the best of festivals dance competition of the Panaad sa Negros Festival that kicked off at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City yesterday.

Marlin Sanogal, festival executive director, said 21 festivals from the towns and cities of Negros Occidental joined the competition, with the MassKara Festival performers of Bacolod City as guests.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. declared open the festival, that he said has grown by leaps and bounds since it first started 21 years ago. The festival that runs until Sunday drew thousands of local and foreign spectators yesterday.

Other winners were the Bailes de Luces of La Castellana – second, Pasalamat Festival of La Carlota – third, Hugyaw Kansilay of Silay – fourth, and the Moises Padilla Hinuptanan Festival – fifth.

San Carlos won P50,000, La Castellana – P40,000, La Carlota – P30,000, Silay – P20,000 and Moises Padilla – P10,000.

Judges were Mariant Escaño-Villegas, Franco Velas, Susana Arcega, Nestor Horfilla and Julius Martin Sollesta. Festival dances competition coordinator was Rudy Reveche.

Tourism Regional Director Helen Catalbas, who spoke at the opening program of the festival, which has the theme “Organik na Negros: Rising to the Challenges of Globalization in 2015”, said one-third of the 3.5 million tourists who visited Western Visayas last year came to Negros Occidental.

She told the DAILY STAR that Negros Occidental has a vast potential for tourism, and has only utilized about 25 percent of its attractions.

The opening of the Bacolod Silay Airport to international commercial and chartered flights will be a big boost in drawing foreign tourists, she said.

She said that, of the DOT budget of P1.2 billion for road projects in Western Visayas in 2012 and 2013, Negros Occidental got P615 million.

This year, there are four approved big road projects for Negros Occidental and 24 more are proposed for next year, she said.

Catalbas said the target is that, by 2016, there will be no road in Negros Occidental leading to tourist attractions or ports of entry that are not cemented or widened.

She said Negros Occidental organic farmers should produce more products to cash in on the tourism boom in the region.*CPG

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