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Cebu officials welcome probe on mass gathering at tourism activity

Philippines | Luzon

Cebu officials welcome probe on mass gathering at tourism activity

By Calvin Cordova

CEBU CITY--Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has taken responsibility for a controversial tourism activity in Madridejos town on Bantayan Island in the northernmost tip of Cebu last Saturday that could have violated health protocols on physical distancing and mass gatherings.

Garcia welcomed the fact-finding investigation that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be conducting after photos of a throng of crowd watching the "Suroy Suroy Sugbo" program became viral online.

“Suroy Suroy Sugbo” is Cebu province's tourism program that features a series of stops in 44 towns and six component cities.

"I am offering myself to be questioned first and foremost. After all, I initiated the mini Suroy Suroy. And the crowd, wearing facemasks, in an open beach area, were there to watch a presentation during the Madridejos Suroy Suroy stop," said Garcia.

Garcia was among the government officials who attended the event. Also in attendance were Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Dino.

Roque spoke before the crowd and noticed that physical distancing was not observed.

Roque, however, said it was just fine that the people gathered to watch the event since it was held in an open-air area and the spectators had their facemasks on.

However, DILG Secretary Eduard Ano ordered to have the incident investigated after the activity drew flak for supposed quarantine protocols violations.

Madridejos Mayor Salvador Dela Fuente said they did not expect that the event would gather such a huge crowd.

The mayor likewise welcomed the DILG investigation, saying it was the agency’s job to look into such incident.

The mayor assured that in future events, stricter measures will be implemented to prevent similar incident from happening again.

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