Church, Sta. Fe town should resolve Holy week row – police

The Marlins Beach Resort in Santa Fe, Bantayan Island, (CDN PHOTO/PETER ROMANILLOS)

CEBU CITY — The director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) is hoping that the local government of Sta. Fe and the local church will resolve issues over the staging of the Isla Music Festival from April 13 to 15.

“I hope activities during the Holy Week will be orderly and peaceful,” said Senior Supt. Eric Noble.

He said Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana and Fr. Roy Bucag should sit down and find a solution to the problem.

“In the end, they should understand each other. We, in the police, will just make sure that the laws are being followed,” Noble said.

Fr. Bucag vehemently opposed the Isla Music Festival which will be held during the most somber and holiest days of the liturgical years for Catholics.

But Mayor Esgana said the festival would boost tourism in the municipality.

During the Holy Week, the CPPO will deploy 50 more policemen on Bantayan Island, including Sta. Fe, one of the three towns that compose the island. The two others are Madridejos and Bantayan towns.

Another 15 policemen would specifically ensure peace and order in Sta. Fe town, said Chief Insp. Gerard Pelare, spokesperson of CPPO.

Aside from Sta. Fe, the police will also focus on Minglanilla town, south of mainland Cebu where the Sugat Kabanwahan festival will be held on Easter Sunday.

The town is famous for its Sugat Kabanhawan festival that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Pelare said they were coordinating with the police’s theft and robbery section to identify  notorious thieves in the province of Cebu so that they could alert the public.

“Our security preparations for the Holy Week are ready,” he said.  SFM/rga

Sta. Fe town on Bantayan Island in Cebu (Google maps)