First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will join other dignitaries who will witness the Iloilo Dinagyang cultural presentation at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand morning of Jan. 22.

Thirteen diplomats will arrive in Iloilo to witness the festival, according to the press statement of the Iloilo city government on Friday.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the presence of personalities to experience the much-awaited comeback of the country’s best tourism event will help in the city’s economic promotions.

Meantime, Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. executive director Joyce Clavecillas said they are 90 to 95 percent done with preparations for the staging of the event that will kick off with a series of events on Jan. 13 with highlights set on Jan. 20 to 22.

“Hopefully we can deliver a good presentation come Jan. 13-22. The first day of course is Jan. 13 when we have the opening salvo where barangay and ILOmination tribes will give a glimpse of their performances at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand,” she said.

Clavecillas added that they looked forward to a jampacked festival since during their meeting with the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) Alliance last December, she was informed that almost all of their hotel-members are fully-booked or with just a few rooms left for the three-day highlights.

The Department of Tourism recorded more or less 100,000 visitors during the entire of January 2020 or pre-pandemic, so the organizers are expecting to have a similar number or even more.

“We are still encouraging our guests to still wear face masks, especially if they see that the area is crowded. Minimum health protocols are always encouraged,” she added when asked about health protocols.

Other dignitaries expected to enjoy the festival include Ambassadors Xiomara Perez Rodriguez of Embassy and Consulate General of the Republic of Panama, Agus Widjojo of Indonesia, Borhan Uddin of Bangladesh, Tull Traisorat of Thailand, Folakemi Ibidunni Akinleye of Nigeria, Halaas Lyster of Norway, Raduta Dana Matache of Romania, Kazuhiko Koshikawa of Japan, and Jaroslaw Szczepankiewicz of Poland.

Mr. Peter Laszlo will represent Ambassador Titanilla Toth of Hungary, Ms. P.G.P. Kaushalya, Charge d’ Affaires as representative of Ambassador Shobini Gunasekera of Sri Lanka; and Chief Consuls Kristofer Graf and Leo Balantac of US Embassy. (PNA)