Sinulog ticket sales hit P2M; income to go up

THIS year’s Sinulog earned at least P2.2 million from ticket sales alone.

Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) executive director Ricky Ballesteros said their income will still increase as they have yet to compute their earnings from the registration fees for the photo contests and other competitions.

Ballesteros said the ticket sales this year are much bigger than in 2010, although he could not recall offhand how much was earned last year.

In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Ballesteros said their income from the tickets already includes the sales during the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan, Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan and during the Sinulog grand parade.

For the grand parade last Jan. 16, SFI printed some 5,900 tickets, ranging from P500 to P600 each.

Meanwhile, the SFI said they will be giving awards to contingents that have won 10 times in the Sinulog grand parade.

The Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe from Tangub City, Misamis Occidental will be awarded, being the contingent with the most wins. The Tribu Sinanduloy currently has 10 wins, nine of these in the Sinulog-based category and one in the free interpretation category.

Ballesteros reiterated the SFI will not install Tribu Sinanduloy and other grand slam winners in the Hall of Fame so that the quality and standards of the production of every contingent will not deteriorate.

He said other contingents should strive to beat the best contingents in the annual parade.

As this developed, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Chairman Sylvan Jakosalem said he disagrees with the proposal to transfer the Sinulog to the South Road Properties (SRP).

“I wouldn’t go for that. Why transfer to an area where there are no people?” asked Jakosalem.

He also said that the grand parade has always been in the city streets, where people can see the landmark buildings of Cebu City.

“That is part of the celebration,” said Jakosalem.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Ballesteros, in previous interviews, also agreed the SRP is not yet the right venue for the grand parade.

There are no buildings and there are not a lot of trees at the SRP that would protect
dancers and spectators from either the heat or the rains.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south) also opposed the suggestion to use the SRP for the Sinulog soon, but added it may become a good venue for the event in the future.

He said expanding the grandstand in the Cebu City Sports Center is a good suggestion, but will depend on City Hall’s priorities.

While he agreed the Sinulog is getting bigger, he questioned a police official’s estimate that some 3.5 million spectators turned up last Jan. 16.

“Naa’y daghan tawo tinuod gyud, more than the past, but it can’t be three million people. Ngiga no? Impossible gyud na! Sa ato pa, ang tanang tawo sa probinsya, nanan-aw sa Sinulog (Yes, there were more people than last year, but three million is impossible. You mean to tell me the entire population in the province came to see the Sinulog)?” Osmeña asked.

Ballesteros has recommended extending the grandstand so that more people can watch the performances of participating contingents.

The grandstand can accommodate 12,000 spectators for now, but the tickets are usually sold out days before the parade.

“Pwede kaayo, dugay ra man gani kong nag-ingon nga ayuhon nang grandstand aron dili masalisihan ang manan-aw ba kung mag-uwan (That’s doable. I suggested long ago that we need to fix the grandstand so that spectators won’t get hit by the spray when it rains),” Mayor Rama said.

The mayor clarified, though, that whatever work is done, the grandstand must be available in time for the next Sinulog in 2012.