National-democratic groups in Iloilo condemned the Iloilo police for disrupting and harassing their “sadsad” (festival dance) conducted in conjunction with the Dinagyang Festival on January 26. Police reportedly ordered the removal of stickers with slogans adorning the participants’ costumes in the activity.

The police defended the move using Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas’ Executive Order No. 167 in December 2024 banning “political campaigns and statements” during the Dinagyang Festival. On January 3, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Panay already condemned this policy as a direct attack on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

According to Bayan-Panay, the EO silenced the critical voice of the people and banned political expression during the Dinagyang Festival under the veil of “safety and security.” They said that this gag order is not an isolated incident since a similar policy was implemented in Dinagyang 2024 and protests and rallies have been banned several times before in the city.

“For decades, BAYAN Panay and other people’s organizations have joined the Dinagyang not to disrupt but to amplify the voices of the marginalized—farmers, workers, jeepney drivers, students, market vendors, and Tumandok communities,” according to the group. They asked why Mayor Treñas is so averse to these voices and whether this implies his complicity in aggravating the plight of these sectors.

Apart from this, they condemned the presence of current government officials and other politicians running for the 2025 election on the Dinagyang Festival stage. They also denounced the inclusion on the “car pass” of the “Rais and Shine” logo which clearly refers to the mayor’s daughter Raisa Treñas-Chu, who is running for mayor to replace her father.

Meanwhile, Bayan-Panay also emphasized that the Dinagyang Festival is already highly commercialized and far from its historical origins.