Social Attributes of Dagitab Festival

I. Rationale
The Philippines were colonized by the Spaniards for more than three centuries. It started 1565 when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in Cebu. They brought their culture and integrate it in the Philippines. After several years, the country gained its freedom yet Filipinos’ culture and tradition remained colonized. This can be seen in religious activities that Spanish taught to Filipinos. Religion is the greatest contribution of Spaniards. Almost 80% of the population in the Philippines is Roman Catholic. One way of showing faith and honor is celebrating festivals which are very common to the Filipinos. People danced lively in the harmony with the tune of their music and the sounds of their musical instruments plus the colorful props and costumes they are wearing. The festival of each place mirrors their colorful history, tradition and culture. Festival is not just about eating and having fun, it is form of giving thanks to the blessing they received and looking back to their rich past. Celebrating an annual festival is very common in the Philippines especially in Cebu City.

Cebu is the home of finest festivals. Each town has its own festival due to the efforts of Honorable Gwendolyn Garcia, the Governor of Cebu, who inspires the officials of each town to make a festival that represents their place. This is in line with her project in promoting the tourism of Cebu which she views as a big help in the economic development of Cebuano’s. One of the officials who are inspired by the lady Governor is Honorable Valdemar Mendiola Chiong, the present mayor of the City of Naga. He organized a Festival Management Workshop who will decide the name of the festival. There were four choices on the name of the festival. These are Tina, Narra, Dagitab and Dagahanan. After a thorough deliberation, they came to a name “Dagitab Festival”. Dagitab is a Cebuano term which means electricity. The two main electric power supply companies residing in Naga proved the name Dagitab Festival.

These companies were the SPC (Salcon Power Corporation) and KEPCO SPC (Korean Electric Company). It is celebrated by the people of Naga every 23rd of December. The researchers observed that Naga City improved a lot as time passed by, from a quiet and dark town at night to a rich and developed city. As seen, City of Naga is known as the “Industrial Hub in the South of Cebu”. This development is shown in Dagitab Festival but their festival is not yet known by most of the people. The researchers aim to promote the festival so that it will be known and recognized not only in Cebu but in the Philippines as well so that tourists will be encouraged to go and visit the City of Naga and watched their fantastic festival. The researchers were curious on how do the people of Naga improved and developed. The researchers’ main purpose is to know origin and contribution of Dagitab Festival and its effect to the people of the City of Naga. II. Statement of the Problem

The study focuses on the good attributes brought by the Dagitab Festival to the people residing at City of Naga. Furthermore, this study aims to answer the following queries: 1. How does Dagitab Festival contribute to the sociological development of the City of Naga? 2. What were the changes made in the preparation and celebration of Dagitab Festival? III. Significance of the Study

This study helps a lot in promoting the City of Naga. This can inform people especially tourists of the good qualities the City of Naga as shown in their festival. This research serves as an important document to the City of Naga since it contains the history, activities and life of the people of Naga portrayed in this festival. It also give insights to the people on how does Dagitab Festival change the lives of the people of Naga. Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature
An inherent part of Filipino spirit is the joy of life and their fervor to celebrate their blessings, commemorate their past and observe solemn religious rituals such that each barangay, town, province and city celebrate at least one fiesta or festival. Alejandro Reynaldo (2002) defined festival as an expression of community life that animates various rituals. It is a vehicle of socialization, contributing to the general welfare and to the need for recreation, and acting as an outlet for repressed feelings. It brings spiritual benefits to its performers and entertains spectators. In the book of Quinn (2009:5) Janiskee explained that festival and events can be understood as formal periods or programs of pleasurable activities, entertainment or events having a festive character and publicly celebrating some concept or fact. Festival is an awaited communal activity since it involves mouthwatering delicacies and amusement activities. Quinn (2009) added that festivals have long existed as significant cultural practices devised as forms of public display, collective celebration and civic ritual.

During these events, the host community showcase the best things that you can found in this locality such that “ Dagitab Festival” of the City of Naga celebrates light and electricity as they are home of two electric companies, the Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO) and the Salcon Power Company (SPC) which supplies electricity in Cebu. Festival is also designed as tourist attraction in the purpose of boosting the economy of the host community. Events seen as important motivator in tourism and is an effective enhancer of destination image (Getz, 2008). Festival is not just created in the purpose of tourism and economy but also to strengthen the social fabric of the community. Delamere et. Al. (2001) suggests that community- based festival can provide platform for a sense of togetherness, social interactions, a sense of community pride, and intergroup cooperation. Hon. Venci R. Del Mar, city councilor of the City of Naga said that their festival is the time when families and friends of the people of Naga are gathered even before Christmas as they celebrate the festival of light and electricity.