FIFTY-ONE contingents from the different cities and municipalities of Cebu Province competed in the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo Grand Ritual Showdown competition and Festival Queen during its kickoff on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
This year, the the festival returned to the CCSC, with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, and Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco leading the opening rites.
Also present were former senator and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Francis Tolentino, and other national and local officials.
The Pasigarbo sa Sugbo was held last year at the Carcar City Sports Complex but was marred with controversy over technical glitches, resulting in repeat performances by several contingents and changes in the results of the winners.
Carcar City contingents were first declared the overall winners; however, they made changes in the ranking and tally system, in which contingents from the town of Minglanilla were hailed as the overall champions.
This year, Governor Garcia expressed gratitude to Acting Mayor Garcia for allowing the return of the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo to CCSC.
The governor added that there are nine new judges for the 2024 Pasigarbo, the first time since the annual event was held a decade ago.
The new set of judges were Dr. Eric Zerrudo; Lucy Torres Gomez; Ahwel Paz; Atom Henares; Karen Davila; Anna Maria Dy; Boy Abunda; Dennis Marasigan; and Tristan Las Marias.
Twenty-man Russian delegation from the St. Petersburg Region, led by Vyacheslav Gennadyevich Kalganov, deputy chairman of the Committee on International Relations, joined and witnessed the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.
The governor stressed that the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo was a testament to the unity of the Cebu officials as a single island.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, there were no technical glitches during the sixth-minute performances of the contingents.
“It’s not easy as that, sayon para lang kaninyo mga audience kay gusto mo makakita. But we have a brand new set of judges. They have to understand that there are very technical rules to this competition,” Governor Garcia said.
Meanwhile, the contingent from Toledo City suffered a deduction in its points during its performance after reportedly failing to follow the one-minute rule for ingress of its props on the stage.
This was the condition given to Toledo City’s Hinulawan Festival contingent after Governor Garcia allowed them to repeat their performance.
All contingents were given one minute for the ingress and egress of their props and dancers on the stage.
The governor reminded the judges to be mindful of the 60-second ingress and egress rule.
A few hours before the Pasigarbo, the float of the Dumanjug contingent caught fire while traversing the Cebu South Coastal Road on Sunday morning.
Dumanjug Mayor Gungun Gica, in a Facebook post, said the fire “completely destroyed” the audio van.
“However, I have some unfortunate news to share. Just a few minutes ago, the audio van accidentally caught fire and was completely destroyed. I know this is an incredibly difficult setback, especially considering the countless hours you invested to make this happen,” reads a portion of his Facebook post.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) raised the first alarm at 10:17 a.m. and declared the fire under control in less than 20 minutes, and estimated damage reached P600,000.
The town was able to build a new float in just minutes with the help of the Cebu City Government before the start of the street dancing.
Immense Pride
Acting Mayor Garcia, during a speech, invited the spectators to return and witness the Sinulog Festival again in January 2025.
Garcia said that the event belongs to Cebu City as the capital of the Cebu province.
“I hope to see all of you again for Sinulog 2025 right here at the Cebu City Sports Center,” he said.
“We take immense pride in the fact that, in 2019, we first played host to Pasigarbo sa Sugbo. We had that honor again in 2022, when Pasigarbo resumed after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic; and, now, in 2024, it is back to where it belongs — the city of Cebu,” he added.
Garcia said that CCSC underwent a renovation to host the Palarong Pambansa back on July 9–16, 2024, with Cebu City as the host city.
He added that the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and the province of Cebu have also extended help in the Palaro, emphasizing the unity of One Cebu Island.
In an earlier interview, Garcia told SunStar Cebu that the numerous complaints he had received during the 2024 Sinulog Festival at the South Road Properties (SRP), such as the lack of water, restrooms, and shading, prompted him to start the preparations for next year’s Sinulog with CCSC as the venue in mind.
The SRP was located on the reclaimed land in the south district of Cebu, located at the Cebu South Coastal Road.
Garcia added that the renovation of the CCSC, including the installation of two huge LED panels and a new electrical system, has been one of his considerations for returning the Sinulog 2025 to the usual venue.
With Garcia’s announcement, it contrasted with the earlier pronouncement of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, currently serving his six-month suspension since May 2024, to hold for the third time the Sinulog Festival, including the street dancing and grand ritual showdown at the SRP.
Rama earlier stressed that the SRP is the perfect venue to hold large gatherings and audiences, and around four million spectators have attended Sinulog 2024 at the SRP.
Cebu officials led by Governor Garcia expressed opposition to the Rama’s decision to conduct the Sinulog at SRP due to safety concerns, and instead pushed for the festival to be held at the CCSC.
Over the years, the Sinulog Festival Grand Ritual Showdown was held at the CCSC, while the street dancing competition was held within the vicinity. / EHP, ANV, JJL, DVG