ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Gov. Garcia favors holding Sinulog Grand Parade at Cebu City Sports Center

Gov. Garcia favors holding Sinulog Grand Parade at Cebu City Sports Center

Published Jan 10, 2023 03:16 pm

CEBU CITY – If she can have her way, Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia would rather have the Sinulog Grand Parade held at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), the traditional venue of the most-awaited festival.

Garcia suggested that Cebu City officials should stick with CCSC as the festival’s main venue instead of having it at the South Road Properties.

"If they would ask my opinion and I hope that my opinion matters because it is one Cebu Island after all, I think it would be better if we stick with the tradition because after all, Sinulog is part of our tradition,” Garcia told reporters on Monday, Jan. 9.

Construction of the stage and the grandstand for the Sinulog Festival at the South Road Properties are yet to be completed as of Monday, Jan. 10. The festival will be on Sunday, Jan. 15. (Photo from Cebu City PIO)

“Our method is tried and tested in all of these years," added Garcia.

The holding of the festival at the SRP has been the subject of criticisms especially that the structure for the grand ritual showdown has yet to be completed.

The festival will take place on Jan. 15.

One of the prominent figures who also opposed the holding of Sinulog at SRP was top realtor Gerald O. Leuterio, founder of Filipino Homes.

Leuterio said it is impossible to construct a venue that can accommodate up to 8,000 spectators in eight days or less.

Leuterio said it would be risky to hold the festival in a venue that he described as ‘half-baked.’ Garcia cited various reasons why the festival should be held at CCSC and not at the SRP.

The governor said the closure of SRP to give way for the festival will cause heavy traffic that will affect at least 20 towns and cities in the south.

The closure of SRP will leave Natalio Bacalso Avenue as the only access to the city.

Garcia also raised security concerns if the festival will be held at the SRP which is an open space unlike the fenced CCSC.

At SRP, the humid air from the Mactan Channel may affect the performance of the participating contingents, said Garcia.

The lack of amenities may also expose the participants and the spectators to the searing heat of the sun, the governor added.

There were also complaints that the venue at SRP becomes muddy during downpours.

Garcia pointed out she is not against the holding of Sinulog in other places as long as it is thoroughly planned.

"If we do this now and we are not able to fully address the consequences at this point in time, the Sinulog might not come up to the expectation. A lot of problems may arise. I already foresee the problems," Garcia said.

Mayor Michael Rama has yet to comment on Garcia’s stand on the issue.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.