Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia (Photo from Gov. Gwen Garcia Facebook page)
CEBU CITY — Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Monday announced that the province is “back to normalcy” after it got over the hump created by COVID-19.
“Here in Cebu, we made that difficult choice of balancing both lives and livelihood. It was a thin line that we tread,” she said at the start of the month-long activities for the 453rd founding anniversary on Monday.
“I speak of normalcy because we have learned so much in these three years about this dreaded disease and if we continue to ramp up the numbers and we continue to sow fear, then we start to suspect that perhaps there is another agenda accompanying COVID-19,” Garcia added.
The governor said people should start accepting the fact that COVID-19, just like any other disease, is here to stay because we are not living in a perfect world. Disease such as tuberculosis is still around, even polio made a reappearance.
“Diseases are here to stay. The challenge is to boost our immune system, to ensure that we protect ourselves and never again should there ever be another lockdown. Normalcy is accepting that we live not in Shangri-La or in some ideal world where nothing ever goes wrong,” Garcia said.
Despite warnings from health officials, Garcia continued to implement the optional wearing of face masks in well-ventilated and open areas in the province, becoming the first locality to do it among all the provinces in the country.
Garcia said that it will be the first time in three years that the province allows physical activities in connection to its founding anniversary.
“It has been three years and it is with much joy, with much gratitude, that we now again celebrate the founding anniversary of the province of Cebu as normal people,” she said.
One of the activities lined up this month is the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo (Pride of Cebu) Festival which will feature the different local festivals of the province’s component towns and cities.
The event includes a grand street parade and a dance showdown.
Other activities in relation to the founding anniversary is the Tabo sa Kapitolyo (Trade Fair) where each town features their local products and delicacies.
On August 6, 1569, King Philip II appointed Spaniard Miguel Lopez de Legazpi as the first governor of the province of Cebu. His appointment was conducted just a few years after the Spanish settlement was established on the island.