Thursday, January 10, 2008 Wenceslao: Politicians in Sinulog By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
MY family skipped last year the ritual of viewing the Sinulog grand parade at the Cebu City Sports Center. My second son Eldrick Khan was but two months old, and we could not leave him to the yaya just for that occasion. So we tried to make do watching the dances on TV, which was inadequate. But we did attend one mass at the Basilica.
My wife and I have decided to again steer clear of the Cebu City Sports Center this year. Rick-Rick is already one year old but there’s one problem.
When firecrackers were exploded for the New Year, he cried in fright. He even cried when his older brother Edison Khan blew a toy horn. Imagine how he would react to the fireworks display.
So it wouldn’t have mattered to us whether the dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) was allowed to join the Sinulog parade or not. But for one who has seen many variations of the Sinulog dances through the years, I say the inmates would have made the parade exciting and less monotonous.
I think that talk about security consideration is overblown and became believable only because many people do not know better. Consider, say, that of the hundreds of CPDRC inmates, only few of them will join the jail contingent. That means the jail warden has the luxury of selection---they can choose those least likely to be troublesome.
And it is wrong to label CPDRC inmates as criminals. An overwhelming majority of them have not been convicted of any crime as their cases are still being litigated. With the kind of criminal justice system we have, it is even very likely that many of them are wrongly accused, meaning innocent. I can say that because I was once a prisoner.
Anyway, that discussion has already become moot. What caught my attention was the announcement of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña that some presidentiables like Sens. Mar Roxas and Loren Legarda may not only be Sinulog guests but may be allowed to speak at the Cebu City Sports Center grandstand during the parade. Pastilan baya.
Not that this is unprecedented. The mayor once allowed then tourism secretary Richard Gordon to speak at the grandstand (he would later run for senator and win). There were murmurs of complaints then and I am sure the same thing will happen if those ambitious politicians are allowed to do their thing again. Respetuhi ninyo ang Sto. Niño.
