THE Mandaue City Government allocated P12 million for the Mandaue Midyear Cultural Summit, which is part of the celebration for the feast of the city’s patron saint, Saint Joseph, on May 8.
City Treasurer Regal Oliva said P10 million will be used for various activities of the summit while the P2 million will be for the sports activities.
The summit was launched on Thursday, April 19, by city officials led by Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna. Candidates for this year’s Miss Mandaue and The Mandaue Gay Pageant were presented to the media during the launching activity.
Miss Mandaue 2018 will be held on May 6 while the Mandaue Gay Pageant will be on May 9. Both events will be staged at the Mandaue Sports Complex.
Opening of the City Fiesta Olympics will be on April 29, Councilor Kevin Cabahug announced. Among the sports for the Fiesta Olympics are volleyball, basketball, tennis and arnis.
Oliva said some of last year's fiesta activities, such as the Coronation of the Queen, Prince and Princess, and Gugmang Giatay Bisrock musical play, will be replaced with other "in-demand" activities.
He said they will bring back Palengke Queen and Miss Gay Jurassic that will be held on April 29 and May 5, respectively.
“We are putting them back due to public demand,” said Oliva.
In his speech, Fortuna said the Mandauehanons can expect “a lot of fun, wit and humor and a lot of activities” for this year’s fiesta. An awarding was also held for this year's JSBC Medalist.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Mae Elaine Bathan, chief-of-staff of the city mayor, said they will strictly observe the election ban during the whole duration of the summit.
“We are deploying eco-wardens and eco-enforcers so that while we are having fun we are still taking care of our policies and surroundings,” said Bathan. (FMG)