1 month ago
23
The grand Sinulog festival is back in the center of Cebu City after two years of it being celebrated at the South Road Properties (SRP).
The festival venue has been a controversial topic for residents, officials, and Santo Niño devotees alike for quite some time with most of the heat being directed towards ex-Cebu City mayor Mike Rama who pushed for the Sinulog to be at the SRP.
The SRP is a 300-hectare reclamation area in Cebu City that hosts a number of mixed-use development projects like the NUSTAR Resort and Casino, SM Seaside City, and City di Mare by Filinvest to name a few.
As early as January 2024, Rama had already decided to have the 2025 celebration at the SRP again despite the complaints from residents and businesses about the distance and weather conditions there.
But this wasn’t the case in November 2024, when the city government announced that they were ditching the SRP for the original venue — the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
So what exactly happened and was it political in any way?
Two years at the SRP
In 2023, Rama pushed to have the grand festival at the SRP, believing it was the right venue to prevent “stampedes” and “revelries spilling on the road.”
Rama, who was mayor at the time, told reporters that he also wanted to showcase the SRP to prospective investors who typically join the celebration annually.
Some business leaders, especially the Cebu City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, supported the idea, believing that it would promote the SRP as a new prime business district.
On January 9, 2023, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia questioned the holding of the Sinulog at the SRP, echoing concerns from residents about the lack of facilities, possible traffic congestion, and muddy terrain at the venue.
Garcia announced that 10 out of 26 contingents pulled out of the Sinulog 2023 ritual dance showdown and grand parade just days before the festival day on January 15, 2023.
Some attendees, including senior citizens, walked two kilometers along the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) from the drop-off point to the main venue at City di Mare in SRP.
Some residents criticized the holding of the venue at SRP for “seemingly prioritizing” only those who can afford to bring vehicles and pay for the costs of going to the area.
Despite the issues and recurring complaints, the Cebu City government pushed through with its celebration for the Sinulog festival again at the SRP on January 21, 2024.
Only this time, the local government added side-walk structures for shade, free bus rides and allocated P100 million for road asphalting to deal with the muddy terrain.
In a press conference on January 23, 2024, Rama said that the venue of the Sinulog 2025 would remain at the SRP, stating that the CCSC will no longer be used due to its “limited capacity.”
“Yes, it will remain [at the SRP]. Unless you have an idea for a venue that can accommodate four million people,” the mayor said at the time.
Police estimated that up to three million people attended the Sinulog 2024. Rama shared that he wanted to continue developing the Sinulog stage at the City di Mare with hopes of making it a “world-class venue.”
However, after Rama was dismissed in September 2024 for alleged nepotism, his vice mayor at the time, Raymond Alvin Garcia, took over and the venue was changed back to the traditional location at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
‘Zero’
Garcia revealed in a press conference on January 6, 2025, that sales from Sinulog tickets did not meet expectations.
“Last year man gani, wa man gani mi halin didto sa SRP. Duha na mi katuig, zero, gipanghatag na lang namo ang tickets, wa gihapo’y nangadto,” the incumbent mayor told reporters.
(Last year actually, we didn’t earn at the SRP. For two years, zero, we ended up giving away tickets, no one still went.)
This year, Garcia said that they’re hoping to make more money and accommodate more people at the street venues and CCSC. The incumbent mayor also noted that there were more contingents for the grand Sinulog ritual dance showdown compared to the previous years.
When asked about what would happen to the SRP World Tent City, the developed property used for the Sinulog 2023 and 2024, Garcia said that it had already fulfilled its purpose and that it would no longer be allocated a budget for Sinulog 2025.
“The point of it was to ensure that people have more facilities to go to…But the entire center of the city of Cebu is already World Tent City,” the mayor said in another press conference on January 13, 2025.
In September 2024, Rama criticized Garcia’s decision to bring the Sinulog back to the CCSC and away from the SRP, claiming that the latter should not interfere with decision-making at the Sinulog Foundation Incorporated as Rama “remains the chairman” of the board.
It’s worth noting that Garcia and Rama have been at odds with each other since June 2024 and are facing off for the mayorship of Cebu City in the upcoming 2025 polls.
For Garcia, the holding of the pre-Sinulog 2025 activities in the city center and subsequent positive remarks from longtime Santo Niño devotees was enough of a statement to his political adversary who wanted the festival at the SRP.
“Kaning preliminary activity pa gale, ang Sinulog sa Kabataan, puno na ang grandstand (Even from this preliminary activity, the Sinulog sa Kabataan, the grandstand was filled)…You can see it with your eyes,” Garcia said.
Without revealing too much, Rama told Rappler on Monday afternoon, January 6, that he would rather have Sinulog the way it is.
“Let’s just have the Sinulog as it is and earnestly pray for the Senior Santo Nino that all will be well,” Rama said.
Was Rama being sarcastic? Only time will tell as the Sinulog festival heads back to the CCSC. – Rappler.com
