Capitol assures support for quincentennial events

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has assured the Archdiocese of Cebu of the provincial government’s support in the upcoming quincentennial celebration of the birth of Catholicism in the country next year.

Garcia made the assurance to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma during the latter’s visit to the Capitol where he and Fr. Mhar Vincent Balili presented the plans and programs of activities for the year-long celebration.

Garcia said one of the activities next year is to highlight the different parishes in the province. According to the governor, the Capitol is willing to work with the Archdiocese on the said endeavor as it will also promote local tourism.

“I suggested that perhaps we could work together para mamarket sad namo on the tourism side, it’s like a religious cultural thing because our religion is so much a part of our culture,” Garcia said.

 Aside from being known as the island with pristine beaches, Cebu is also rich in its cultural heritage sites like the different churches from the towns in the South and in the Northern Cebu.

“We said we could work with you in promoting this and promoting Cebu, in effect, as a religious and cultural destination,” Garcia said, adding that this could be done by visiting the different parishes or churches of the towns and showing the religious and cultural treasures of the province.

 The quincentennial celebration next year will kick off with the unveiling of the Jubilee cross on April 4, 2021. It will be marked by a simultaneous celebration of Holy Masses by the different parishes.

They are also planning to hold a Holy Mass in the Capitol before the procession to Plaza Independencia. The Archdiocese of Cebu has already submitted the proposed plans of activities for the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease.

“We hope times to get better by next year. We are waiting for a response from the IATF on the number of people that we can accommodate for the activities and the protocol,” Palma said.

“We are willing to comply with government regulations. We are waiting on instructions on how to execute the activities,” Palma added. — FPL (FREEMAN)