SYMBOL OF FAITH The cross of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, displayed at a pavilion in downtown Cebu City, symbolizes the arrival and spread of Christianity in the Philippines. —ARJOY CENIZA
CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The Catholic Church may have to look for other sources of funds for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianization of the Philippines in 2021, according to an official leading the quincentennial committee in the Visayas.
Cebuano designer Kenneth Cobonpue, head of the Visayas Quincentennial Committee, said that while the government would take part in the celebration, its efforts would be focused on the sociocultural aspect of the event.
“No government funds will be used for that (500th anniversary of Christianization of the Philippines) because there was an announcement from the President,” Cobonpue told the Inquirer. “We (the government) will take care of the sociocultural aspect [of the event]. Of course, we will support them (Church) indirectly, like in the peace and order situation, but we cannot use government funds.”
Colonization
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier rejected support for ceremonies that would mark the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines, saying the event would also commemorate the arrival of the Spaniards who colonized the country for more than three centuries.
“Why would I give something for the celebration?” the President said in a speech during groundbreaking rites for the construction of houses for families displaced by a landslide in Naga City, Cebu province, in September.
“When [Portuguese explorer Ferdinand] Magellan came here, he brought the cannon and the cross,” he said. “But because the cross is there, the natives immediately embraced them,” he added.
Cobonpue cited three important aspects of the celebration: the Christianization of the Philippines, the first circumnavigation of the world and the victory of local chieftain Lapu-Lapu against the Spaniards in the Battle of Mactan.
World-class
“The government will focus on the second and third aspects of the celebration. As to the first, it will be taken care of by the Church, that is why it is important that we closely work with the Church,” he said.
The Visayas Quincentennial Committee held its first meeting in October to prepare for the largest event in the Visayas. Present during the meeting were Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, Department of Tourism Central Visayas Director Shalimar Hofer Tamano, Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas spokesperson Titus Borromeo, businessman Edmund Liu and Cobonpue.
“I feel very honored to be given the chance to head this very important celebration. I think, as head of the Regional Development Council (in Central Visayas), I can rally all agencies to support this endeavor,” Cobonpue said.
“My training as a designer will see to it that the event will be extraordinary and world-class. This is a very monumental task ahead because this is a truly Christian celebration. The challenge is to make it socially and culturally relevant for us,” he said.