CELEBRATING Sinulog may fill Cebu’s streets with dancers and draw tourists from around the world, but Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy stressed that the festival, above all, is a religious activity rooted in faith in the Santo Niño -- a celebration whose moral integrity, he said, must be preserved by rejecting support from industries tied to broken family and poverty.
Uy, in a statement in his Facebook page “Maymay sa Magbalantay” on Friday, January 9, 2026, appealed to Sinulog Festival organizers to refrain from accepting sponsorships from gambling establishments, stressing how can someone ask the “Santo Niño for a blessing while inviting support from industries that have, in many cases, contributed to family breakdown and poverty.”
“The Sinulog is not merely a cultural event or a tourism activity. It is, above all, a religious celebration, rooted in our faith and centered on the Child Jesus. Its spiritual meaning must be preserved, protected, and respected,” read a portion of Uy’s post.
Uy said the Sinulog should not be treated merely as a cultural or tourism event, noting that the festival is primarily a religious celebration centered on devotion to the Santo Niño.
The annual religious fiesta celebration of the Holy Child, the Santo Niño, is celebrated every third weekend of January, which falls on January 18 this year.
“As we prepare to celebrate the Sinulog Festival, a deeply religious and cultural expression of our devotion to the Santo Niño, I appeal to the organizers to carefully discern the sources of sponsorships and financial support,” he said.
According to Uy, gambling, as one of the Sinulog sponsors, contradicts the values of the Santo Niño, creates moral inconsistency, confuses true purpose, and contributes to family breakdown and poverty.
Contradiction to Santo Niño values
Uy said accepting financial support from gambling-related entities undermines the values symbolized by the Santo Niño, whom he described as representing innocence, purity, and trust in God.
He pointed out that gambling establishments are often linked to addiction, financial loss, and family problems, making them incompatible with the moral and spiritual values of the festival.
Moral inconsistency warned
The archbishop warned of moral inconsistency, saying the Church cannot discourage harmful habits among families while allowing sacred celebrations to be funded by industries associated with such practices.
He said doing so could create confusion among the faithful and weaken the Church’s moral stand.
Risk to evangelization and festival integrity
Accepting gambling sponsorships, Uy said, could weaken the credibility of the Sinulog as a tool for evangelization and shift public perception of the event from a religious feast to a commercial spectacle.
“Accepting sponsorships from gambling sectors risks shifting public perception from a religious feast to a commercial spectacle, weakening its spiritual impact and confusing its true purpose,” he said.
He noted that thousands of devotees, particularly the youth, look to the Sinulog for spiritual guidance and inspiration.
Impact on the poor and vulnerable
Uy further emphasized that gambling disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable to losing what little they have, making it inappropriate to seek support from industries that may contribute to poverty and family breakdown.
“We cannot ask the Santo Niño to bless our families while inviting support from industries that have, in many cases, contributed to family breakdown and poverty,” he said.
Call for value-aligned partners
Instead, he encouraged organizers to seek partners from public and private institutions that align with the values of faith, family, culture, and community.
“There are many institutions -- public and private -- that can and will support the festival without compromising its moral character,” he said.
Uy said his appeal aims to ensure that the Sinulog remains a celebration that reflects the joy, purity, and spiritual significance of the Santo Niño -- not only in its rituals and festivities, but also in the moral choices made in organizing the event.
Difference
In a report from SunStar Cebu on January 11, 2024, Fr. Genesis Labana, OSA, director of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño (BMSN) Media Center, pointed out that the only obvious difference between the two is the group of organizers.
The Sinulog Festival is spearheaded by the Sinulog Foundation Inc., while the Fiesta Señor is led by the Augustinian priests.
The Sinulog refers to the cultural aspect of the devotion to the Holy Child, while the Fiesta Señor pertains to the religious activities of the BMSN led by the Augustinian friars.
The Sinulog Festival covers various competitions in honor of the Holy Child. These range from the grand parade and the ritual showdown participated by contingents nationwide.
The Fiesta Señor, whose essence dates back from the arrival of the image of the Sto. Niño in 1521, refers to the religious activities during the nine-day novena, the visperas, and the feast day held every third Sunday of January in honor of the Holy Child.
Among the anticipated religious activities of the Fiesta Señor are the foot processions, namely, the Penitential Walk with Jesus, Walk with Mary and the Solemn Foot Procession on the visperas day, seaborne procession, reenactment of the first baptism and first wedding, and the “Hubo” mass. (CDF)