IT’S better to regulate rather than prohibit baile or benefit dances in Sta. Fe town, Bantayan Island in Cebu, a Provincial Board (PB) Member said yesterday.
PB Member Joven Mondego said benefit dances are a long-standing tradition in Cebu having originated during the Spanish occupation of the province.
“It’s a normal recreation for towns and barangays especially during fiestas,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Ecology lawyer Antonio Oposa filed a complaint against organizers of bailes or benefit dances in his native Sta. Fe town before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office last week.
In his complaint, Oposa said what made these dances objectionable is the use of loud sound systems. He said the dances are attended by teenagers who are exposed “to the unsavory side of nightlife” through loud rock or disco music.
Oposa, a 2009 Ramon Magsaysay awardee for his work as an ecology advocate, said he long asked local officials to stop this noise pollution for 20 years but nothing happened.
The complaint filed by Oposa before the prosecutors’ office will undergo preliminary investigation while he respondents will be given a chance to submit counter-affidavits.
Mondego, whose family will attend a benefit celebration in Bantayan Island, said it is the responsibility of every local government to regulate these activities to ensure that it doesn’t disturb other people in the communities.
In Bantayan Island, Mondego said discos, concerts and benefit dances are usually held in resorts during fiesta season.
“It’s a tradition that’s prevalent in the summer except during the Lenten season,” he said. Correspondent Renan Alangilan