Two Sinulogs not a crazy idea

What one adjective can we give to the works of H. G Wells, The First Men on the Moon, and Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Let me suggest only four words to choose from - Brilliant, Genius, Weird and Crazy. In making the choice, we shall disregard the technological and scientific strides of the last one hundred years. In short, we choose the word probably prevailing in the minds of the people when they read these books more than a century ago.

If you pick BRILLIANT or GENIUS, i assume that you have been influenced by the quantum leap of science that put Neil Armstrong on the moon. But if you select WEIRD or CRAZY, I am certain that you are ready to think out of the box, any possible harsh FB criticisms notwithstanding.

The idea of establishing an invisible political divide between Cebu Province and Cebu City was not crazy although it was weird. Why weird? In my elementary social studies, Cebu City happened to be the capital of Cebu province. That was the reason the provincial capitol building was erected in the heart of Cebu City. The governance of the province radiated from city where the governor sat in office. It still, is. This has not changed. Cebu City is still the capital of the Cebu Province. But, like all city electors, I could not vote for Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in all past elections.

According to bits of political observations heard decades ago, the warring political blocks (read that as families) wanted to preserve their domains. Here in Cebu City, the Osmenas reigned supremely while the Duranos dominated the province. The Osmeñas would not want the Duranos to sally forth in the politics of the city and the latter wanted to keep the former out of the provincial elections. To maintain their respective turfs, a legal aberration was put in place. Indeed, the electoral process was designed to perpertuate this insanity. But believe me, this idea, previously condidered as out of the box and perhaps crazy, is working.

Let the present leaders of the city and the province strengthen this political divide and apply it even to non-political concerns. For instance, let them hold separate Sinulog. The Sinulog Foundation Inc., a private organization may, with the support of the city administration, limit the participation in the grand parade to the city’s barangays and maybe at most 2 from willing provinces as tested by the criterion of their participation in the previous holding of the festivity. In my recollection, we had seen awesome contingents from Cebu, Leyte, Southern Leyte, the Surigaos, (del Norte and del Sur); Negros Oriental and Occidental; Misamis Oriental and Occidental. Their innovative and glamorous presentations helped make Cebu City Sinulog famous worldwide. For its part, the Cebu Province may decree that the LGU’s within its jurisdiction may only join the Sinulog celebration in Carmen, Cebu, as they successfully did last Sunday.

The staging of the separate Sinulog in Carmen, Cebu, will result in incredible benefits. The provincial government can pour its vast resources to develop the tourism potentials of the many sites in the province anchored on the Carmen festivity. Malapascua and Camotes, for example, can be developed into becoming smaller versions of Boracay. Alegria and the mountain barangays of adjacent towns can be converted into incredible sights of orienteering as miniature Yellowstone National Park, USA.

This administration of Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has Atty Ma. Esperanza Christina Codilla Frasco, for its Secretary of Tourism. If the BBM regime invests in the tourist destination areas in the province, he will help us, Cebuanos, erase from our minds, the atrocities inflicted on our nation by the Martial law of BBM’s name sake.