KANANGA,Leyte– Officials from Sinulog Festival of Cebu personally invited the municipality of Kananga to be part of the 45th Sinulog Festival competition next year.

The invitation to Kananga was personally relayed by Patricio Primor Jr., during a press conference before the 2nd Kananga Kaanyag Festival competition held Sunday (June 9).
Mayor Matt Torres welcomed the invitation from the Sinulog Festival officials saying that it was an honor for a young festival to be invited to perform and compete in one of the prestigious festival competitions in the country.

However, Mayor Torres added that they will still need to think if they will send a contingent to next year’s Sinulog because they still need to discuss as it will require bigger funding.
Sinulog Festival is an annual competition held every third week of January in honor of the patron of the Holy Child Jesus or the Senior Santo Niño.

Meanwhile, in the second Kananga Kaanyag Festival, the municipal government decided to have two categories this year – school-based and open categories.

Among the contingents in the open category were from San Jose, Tacloban, Ormoc City, and Leyte, Leyte province.

In this year competition, Kanangahanung Matahum was the runaway winner bagging the top prize for the school-based category and winning P200,000 cash prize.

They also won best float special award, best in musical score, best in festival costumes, and best in street dancing.

For the open-based category, Hiraiti Festival of Leyte municipality bagged the top prize winning P200,000 and also won the best in street dancing open-based category also winning P70,000 and best choreographer.

Other winners were Team Maanyagung Mananayaw for most discipline contingent, best in visual presentation for Pundok Ogmukanun.

For the Festival Queen competition, Pundok Ogmocanon Michelle Valderas bagged the crown while Jovanna Dawa was awarded as miss photogenic.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

ORMOC CITY– A laborer was arrested by the police after a court issued a warrant for his arrest for violating anti-gambling law at around 10:10 am on Saturday (June 8) in Sitio Ilawod, Barangay Caraycaray in Naval, Biliran.

The accused was identified as alias “Chie”, 29, and a resident of said village.

The accused was brought to the Naval police station before he was brought to the court which issued the warrant. (ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY-Personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) made a successful animal rescue after a reticulated python was spotted at about 9:49 am on Wednesday (June 5) in Barangay Mercedes, Catbalogan City.

City fire marshal, Chief Inspector Jimmy Pasague, led his team in responding to the call to rescue the animal.

The reticulated python, measuring 9 feet long, was spotted in a house whose occupants immediately called the BFP personnel to secure the animal.

The local firemen dug at a concrete pavement where the python was hiding. After several minutes of digging, the responding BFP personnel were finally able to hold the tail of the snake and pull it out from its hiding spot.

The python was immediately placed inside a sack and properly turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for appropriate disposition.

Last year, the local fire bureau also rescued a python from the ceiling of a school canteen in the area. (ROBERT DEJON)