By Jonathan Cabrera
KALIBO, Aklan – The Kalibo Ati-Atihan Management Board (KAMB) has okayed the P1.6-million budget for this year’s celebration of the world-renowned Kalibo Ati-Atihan festival.
This was announced by Mayor Raymar Rebaldo, who is chairman of KAMB, in an interview with RMN-dyKR Kalibo yesterday.
“Actually the allocation was reenacted from last year’s budget considering that the target major sponsors did not totally conform with the solicitation of the Board,” he said.
Rebaldo added, “Our sponsors deducted their allocations for the festival as they diverted it…to those who were affected by the calamities in the past months.”
“But even then we would like to assure our devotees and guests that the shortage in financial support will not affect the celebration…,” he added.
Kalibo will be commemorating the 795th Ati-Atihan festival dubbed as the Mother of All Philippine Festivals starting on the 13th and will culminate on the 21st of this month.
Rebaldo announced that almost all hotels, lodging houses and inns in this capital town are fully booked since October last year for the festival.
“This simply shows that the yearly celebration of Ati-Atihan remains to be an exciting event for everyone despite the bloody shooting incident that marred the 2005 celebration,” he stressed.
So far, 31 Ati tribes have registered – 5 for tribal big, 8 for tribal small, 6 for modern big, 5 for modern small, and 7 for balik ati category.
Meanwhile, the KAMB’s Committee on Budget, Finance and Marketing had announced that the subsidy for the duly registered group participants would be released on Friday.
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