THE Cebu Provincial Government has proposed “free entrance” for the spectators of the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan on Jan. 14, 2024.
This was one of the things discussed during the second coordination meeting for the event called by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Social Hall in the Cebu Capitol Compound.
Mayors and officials of the participating local government units (LGUs), tourism officers, choreographers and other stakeholders attended the meeting with Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera and Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) executive director Elmer “Jojo” Labella.
The Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan will be held at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) on Sunday, Jan. 14, Garcia said.
During the meeting, Pesquera explained that in previous stagings of the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan, the spectators paid P100 for a ticket as entrance fee to the event.
In a text message on Wednesday, Jan. 3, Pesquera told SunStar Cebu that the proceeds of the ticket sales went to the SFI.
The tickets were also used to separate the VIPs and special guests of the event in the seating arrangement that could accommodate 600 of them in the grandstand, Pesquera added.
The governor replied that it would be much better to offer the spectacle for free for all viewing Cebuanos.
“Ever since we had a Pasigarbo kay wala gyud tay (we never had an) entrance (fee). … We would like to be consistent para ani (for this),” Garcia said.
Pasigarbo sa Sugbo is the Capitol’s festival held every August as part of the celebration of the founding anniversary of Cebu Province.
Garcia added that to accommodate the VIPs and special guests, colored wristbands could be distributed to identify and separate them from the general public.
The governor will ask the Philippine National Police (PNP) for help in crowd control to ensure the safety of spectators and event organizers.
She added that the Capitol will spend for the meals and other expenses of all support staff including the PNP personnel that will be involved in the entire event.
The event will feature a street parade and dancing starting from the Capitol building to the CCSC, a floats competition and festival queens, while the ritual showdown will be held on the stage along with the mayor’s introduction. At least 18 LGUs intend to join the event.
The Capitol started distributing on Jan. 3 the checks for the financial subsidy of P2 million to each mainland LGU that will join the competition. The island LGUs of Camotes and Bantayan will receive a cash subsidy of P2.5 million each.
The governor will tap the judges of last year’s Pasigarbo sa Sugbo, led by the SGV accounting firm, to be the adjudicators at the event.
The Capitol also pledged to help in the repair of the grandstand of the CCSC to prepare the venue for the event.
During the meeting, telephone firms Dito, Globe, Converge and PLDT pledged to provide support by ensuring seamless communication and internet connectivity in and out of the CCSC.
Visayan Electric and Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will ensure consistent water and power supply in the 15 schools provided by the Department of Education as accommodation for the out-of-town contingents.
Visayan Electric will ensure the reliability of the power stations near the venue to prevent power interruption, while MCWD will set up four water stations along the parade route of the street dancing.
The Philippine Coast Guard will provide two vessels to transport the contingents and their props from the participating LGUs in the islands of Bantayan and Camotes.
