It has been lobbied for many years now, it’s time various sectors stand behind it.
The Cebu city government – or Congress – should declare the day after the Sinulog Festival in January a holiday, not only to allow dancers and performers to rest after the event but also to give street cleaners a full day to remove the garbage that piles up in the city’s streets.
The proposal was once brought up by past mayor Tomas Osmeña and mentioned by incumbent Mayor Michael Rama.
The holiday proposal should be for Cebu City alone, venue of the Sinulog parade and Sto. Niño celebration in January, to keep it manageable.
The annual celebration has drawn a rising number of domestic and foreign visitors. And with it, the volume of garbage disposed after nights and days of merrymaking.
After last Sunday, 133 tons of garbage were collected by Cebu city sanitation workers along Osmeña Boulevard and other parts of the carousel parade route.
It’s a simple idea, which some may view as trivial until one goes through several Sinulog celebrations over the years and sees the magnitude of work that goes into the series of activites in the nine-day celebration.
When it was first floated, the idea was to allow a rest break for the performers, most of them students.
So far, a tacit understanding with the Department of Education and City Hall allows public schools to take the day off after the Sinulog.
The day after the Sunday parade is set aside for awarding rites, farewells and clean up duties.
One whole day is also needed for members of the private sector to recover from the fatigue of preparations and revelry.
With the flood of bills being filed and re-filed in Congress, it’s unlikely that this would a priority for the national legislature.
Still, there’s a small chance that Congress can facilitate the passage of a bill for post-Sinulog holiday, if Cebu’s nine district congressmen push for it.
Or perhaps urge the President to issue the declaration from Malacañang.
The idea is to give a well-deserved rest break for the city that mounts the “mother of all festivals” every January.