Thursday, January 25, 2007 Wenceslao: Soaring summit expenses By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
I STAYED home during the Sinulog grand parade last Sunday. No, I didn’t boycott anything. My son, Eldrick Khan, is but two months old and there was no way we would bring him to the Cebu City Sports Center like we did his older brother Edison Khan the past several years---what with Sinu-log organizers’ penchant to pack the grandstand tight.
The family did miss the sacrifice and the fun of watching the dance presentations and the fireworks at the sports center. But the setup also gave me the chance to assess the TV coverage of the Sinulog grand parade and other Sto. Niño fiesta activities. Among those that covered the event were ABS-CBN (Cebu), GMA 7 (Cebu), CCTN and NBN.
Two points: the coverage was for television and it was not a talk show. I said that because some anchors described what viewers saw on video and were thus repetitive and obnoxious. Others interviewed people at the expense of what was happening in the field. These anchors should have shown the dances and the festivity with least interference.
I think the drop in the number of participating out-of-town contingents didn’t have much effect on the festivities’ excitement level. Cebu contingents have already learned many things from years of competing with outsiders that they can already do things on their own. The costume, props, choreography, etc.---they’re now world class.
But I agree with Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s suggestion to raise the bar of the grand parade higher. That is where the need to expand the number of participating out-of-town contingents comes in. It will make the Sinulog the mother of all other festivals in the country, meaning, the one where other festivals will participate in.
By the way, why has the Sinulog Foundation continued to refuse to buy moveable and reusable iron railings to control the crowd in the street? I have been harping on this for several years now. The use of ropes or policemen to fence off the crowd is primitive and has failed a number of times, especially in the latter hours of the festivity.
For that, let us discuss the evolution of the main stage used for the dances. It used to be rickety and makeshift until Sinulog organizers decided to make it more presentable. The investment was not for naught. The basic structure can now be tucked away and stored for future use. I think expenditure for the stage now is just for the peripherals.
My proposal before was for the Sinulog organizers to initially purchase a limited number of moveable railings for selected choke points. They can then buy a few more railings the next year and so on and on until there will be enough of them to fence the parade route. That would result in better crowd control and less manpower input.
I am raising this point again after Cebu City Police Chief Patrocinio Comendador noted the difficulty in controlling the crowd using ropes. Maybe Comendador can raise that concern to the Sinulog Foundation. The problem is that the next Sinulog is more than eleven months away, meaning not all suggestions now will be remembered by then.
