A postscript to our hosting the Sinulog
I have no doubt that the Senyor Santo Niño blessed Cebu immensely when after the rains last Saturday, which stopped briefly during the solemn procession, the whole Sunday was just cloudy weather so that Cebuanos and their foreign guests could walk the streets and enjoy the Sinulog Grand Parade without getting wet. As I pointed out, I watched on Live TV via One SkyCable and MyTV channel 30 all the contingents that performed at the Cebu City Sports Center. Then yesterday it rained hard the whole day!
But then we had to leave home for my medical checkup in Cebu Doctors and for lunch and later for dinner in the evening. While I did not pass by anywhere near the parade route, but from Ayala Center passing near the Asilo dela Milagrosa at 1:00PM, you could see the throng of people walking towards the Mango Avenue areas. While we had zero phone signals, I did have my Wi-Fi in my house and was able to see some photos uploaded through the internet and indeed Mango Avenue was just as packed as before.
As the news reports clearly pointed out, the Sinulog Festival was "generally peaceful," which means there were no untoward incidents worthy of making the front pages of our newspapers. One major factor why this is so is the ban on drinking. That did not mean that the revelers did drink during the Sinulog Festival. They just postponed their drinking after the grand parade was over. No, I never saw the parties that were set up at the South Road Properties but I heard that the major complaint there was it was just too muddy for people to enjoy. And because there were no telecom services, you could not contact your friends where to meet up.
Late in the evening, we again went around and saw the throng of revelers marching up the streets away from the epicenter of the Sinulog Grand Parade and many stopped by the impromptu sidewalks to eat sidewalk food. Many along Escario Street and near Cebu Doctors even set up small makeshift bars and the drinking started all the way to the wee hours of the night.
Early yesterday morning, I had to go to High Precision for urine samples and as we passed by Juana Osmeña Street, we could see empty bottles of hard liquor strewn along the sidewalks. I am sure that this was happening all over the Sinulog parade route. We Cebuanos still have to learn how to throw our trash properly and not simply throw them on the street.
The most important thing to remember is that Sinulog 2017 is not marred by acts of terrorism or notable incidents that could have made headlines in our newspapers. In my book, that's enough for people especially the foreigners to remember that Asia's biggest Festival was noisy, fun, and safe and a good reason to return for next year's Sinulog Festival.
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It has been 11 years since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was held in Cebu during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Apparently yesterday was the kick-off ceremonies in Davao City for the hosting once again as Chair for this year's ASEAN Summit. I gathered from news reports that the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea will not be on the agenda in this year's ASEAN Summit.
Apparently, President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte does not want a confrontation with China on this matter, while China rejected the Hague Ruling, it is still very much in favor of the Philippines so I guess what President Duterte is trying to do as Chairman for the ASEAN Summit is to be diplomatic about this issue, which China apparently was very pleased to learn. After all, those disputed islands do not only include the Philippines, but other ASEAN nations as well. So if the other ASEAN nations can hold an ASEAN Summit without discussing the disputed territories within the South China Sea then that is their own lookout.
Being the Chairman for this year's ASEAN Summit is a learning process for Pres. Duterte who has been mayor all his life. Now he is not just the president of the Philippines, but the Chair of ASEAN, something that he probably never foresaw when he ran for President.
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