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Saturday, January 05, 2008
Sinulog Foundation agrees with mayor on inmates’ dance
CEBU CITY -- The judge who sent the provincial jail its version of Michael Jackson has nothing against letting him and other dancers perform during the Sinulog.
However, the Sinulog Foundation Inc.'s Board of Trustees agreed Friday to adopt Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña's decision not to allow the provincial or city jail inmates to dance during the grand parade.
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Acting Mayor Michael Rama, also overall chairman of the Sinulog 2008, said the letter-request from Capitol consultant on security Byron Garcia was no longer discussed during the board's meeting Friday.
Doing so would only be an exercise in futility, he said, since the mayor already decided that the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) inmates will not be allowed to participate.
Inmates of the Cebu City Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) also expressed their interest to join but Osmeña also will not allow them to join the festivities.
"If the mayor already made a stand, it will not be good to discuss the matter because it will only be an exercise in futility... We agreed to just let the mayor make the decision. We didn't want to discuss it further so we can focus on other things," Rama said in a phone interview.
At least one judge is open to issuing the court order that will allow one inmate-previously charged in his sala-outside the prison so he can dance during the Sinulog.
"For as long as security is assured," Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Soliver Peras, in an interview yesterday, said he is inclined to give Crisanto Neri permission to be temporarily brought out of the penal compound for a few hours.
"Maybe dancing is good for his rehabilitation," Peras said.
It was the judge, who presides over the 10th branch of the RTC in Cebu, that sent Neri. Neri, who plays Jackson's crotch-grabbing character in the hit CPDRC "Thriller" video on YouTube, is in jail for drug peddling.
The dancing inmates of CPDRC have gained popularity online, after a clip of their routines-including "Thriller", the Algorithm March, "Bebot" of the Black Eyed Peas and "Radio Gaga"-got posted on the video-sharing site YouTube.
But for RTC First Vice Executive Judge Geraldine Faith Econg, not all of the dancing inmates should be allowed to join the Sinulog.
"Maybe we can allow those who are serving the last few days of their sentences but I don't think it's safe to allow those facing non-bailable cases to go out," she said.
She said a few of the back-up dancers are facing charges before her sala.
The decision, though, is up to the judge handling a particular inmate's case. And, Judge Econg revealed, none have submitted the necessary petitions yet.
Every year, some 15,000 revelers watch the Sinulog grand parade from the Cebu City Sports Center bleachers, including foreign and local tourists and government officials of participating local government units from all over the country.
During the meeting yesterday, the Sinulog Foundation also welcomed four new board members and presented their financial statement and report for 2007.
Rama said they will also let Osmeña decide on the request of BBRC Jail Warden Efren Nemeño, whose inmates also want to join the Sinulog festivities on January 20.
CPDRC and BBRC inmates want to perform at the Cebu City Sports Center, but the mayor has not made a statement on BBRC's request yet.
City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said he asked the mayor about BBRC's request, and the mayor said he also would not allow them to join either. (LCR/KNR/Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (January 5, 2008 issue)
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