TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said the province of Leyte is now more determined to continue in the coming years the holding of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals that has already become a tradition that the people look forward to every year.

This resolve came after this year’s Pintados-Kasadyaan festival street parade was marred by untoward incidents that forced the anticipated street-dance parade to take a different direction from its traditional route.

The city government of Tacloban had refused to issue a parade permit to the Pintados-Kasadyaan organizers despite the fact that a temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued by the court to pave the way for the holding of the street-dancing show.

And, on June 27, the date for the Pintados-Kasadyaan parade, the city government of Tacloban under the leadership of Mayor Alfred Romualdez conducted its very own pedicab race on the same route and time with the slated parade.

Likewise, a gathering of people, some admitting to waiting for distribution of food and P200 each, were congregated along the parade route to supposedly conduct a rally against the Leyte Metropolitan Water District, the water utility controlled by the province of Leyte.

Because of such incidents, Petilla said he can only “expect the worst and hope for the best” when the province of Leyte staged the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival the next time in the city of Tacloban.

“This festival has already become a breeding ground of festival champions with our contingents winning big in major national festival competitions, so I do not see any reason why we should end this,” Petilla said.

He added that the thousands of people who trooped to the Leyte Sports Development Center, packing the bleachers to the brim some hours before the grand presentation, only showed that the event has already been ingrained in the collective psyche of Leytenos who yearly look forward to see the cultural affair.