From Sinulog Festival to 51st IEC

With the celebration of the Sinulog Weekend, the Fiesta of Cebu or the Feast of the Señor Sto. Niño over and done with, it marks the end of the Christmas season for Cebu. At the height of the Christmas season, traffic in Cebu was always congested because of Cebu’s proximity to our neighboring islands, like Bohol or Negros Island, where it is easy for people there to load their car on a roll-on, roll-off vessel to cross the Tañon Strait and drive into Cebu City. Most of these shoppers then come back to Cebu to celebrate the Sinulog Festival so traffic was really a problem last week.

Last Saturday morning was the annual fluvial parade which started in St. Joseph’s Church in Mandaue City where the image of the Señor Sto. Niño stayed for the night and at dawn was loaded into a ferry together with the Virgin of Guadalupe and escorted by hundreds of all types of sea vessels back to pier one in Cebu City and brought back to the Basilica de Sto. Niño. Later in the afternoon, the solemn procession joined by millions of devotees walked the streets of Cebu City in near total silence and in prayer.

I couldn’t join the procession as I was in bed nursing a bad cold after my trip to Japan, notably to Akita where temperatures were three below zero and this triggered a bad cold upon my reentry to the hot humid climate of Cebu. But I had to get out of bed to pay my last respects for the late Atty. Democrito “Kito” Mendoza whose vigil was held at the Mariner’s Court in the Associated Labor Union (ALU) compound. In the first two weeks of January 2016, Cebu lost two giants of their own sector… Atty. Kito Mendoza of the Labor sector and Napoleon Rama, publisher of the Manila Bulletin and a good friend of ours.

After the vigil, as I was driving back home… I had to find a route that I thought had less traffic…but Cebu City last Saturday night was a huge party town… with hundreds of thousands of people walking in the streets in groups, crossing the streets anywhere they want, blocking vehicular traffic along the Sinulog Grand Parade route. No doubt the Cebu City Traffic Office (CCTO) was overwhelmed with people partying along the sidewalks while most people were preparing for the Sinulog Grand Parade on Sunday.

I didn’t watch the Sinulog Grand Parade this year, opting to watch it on live television on the SkyCable network and over ABS-CBN. With at least two or three million people cramped into the Sinulog Parade route, this has attracted the attention of politicians who want to be seen by the millions who are in Cebu to enjoy Asia’s biggest and grandest festival. I forgot to warn these politicos that they should not use the Sinulog Festival for campaigning, as there will be time for the election campaign.

Well, I read an Inquirer report on my Facebook page that Vice President Jejomar Binay was booed by certain groups as he entered the Cebu City Sports Center where some 10,000 people were seated to watch the presentation of all the entries for the Grand Parade. This happened early in the morning after suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama introduced VP Binay and he proceeded to make a speech. His Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Gringo Honasan accompanied him. In fairness to VP Binay, he only took the microphone to greet everyone with Pit Senyor! But the die has been cast. Mind you, it is not the first time it ever happened to political celebrities.

During the Sinulog of February 1986, then First Lady Imelda Marcos visited his eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Archbishop’s Palace. After that visit, the entourage of Imeldific tried to exit via Mango Ave., which is a major parade route. I used to live on the top floor of our building that faces that street and I saw many devotees throw yellow confetti into her Toyota Coaster (it was raining at that time) and the coaster was festooned with yellow confetti. Then a few weeks later, the Marcos Dictatorship was gone.

The other celebrity who was booed was the late Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) who was booed by the people inside the grandstand, as they really abhor politicians using the Sinulog for their campaign. There were other politicians seen last weekend… they were Senatorial aspirants Richard Gordon and Senate President Franklin Drilon. They were seen at the vigil of the late Atty. Kito Mendoza and for sure they went around the Sinulog Parade route.

Although the Sinulog Festival is over and done with, Cebu will continue to face traffic congestion throughout this week and the next as by God’s grace, Cebu plays host to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) where one of the main venues of the IEC is a new pavilion at the back of the Seminario Minore in Mabolo where the streets would be closed to traffic.

I was able to interview for my talkshow on Straight from the Sky Auxiliary Bishop Msgr. Dennis Villarojo, secretary general of the IEC how he and his team of bishops, priests and lay people worked together to put up a new pavilion just for the IEC, which is happening to Cebu this week.

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