Capitol to give P1M

The Cebu provincial government will donate P1 million to the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) for the staging of this year’s Sinulog festivities.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III assured this when SFI executive director Ricky Ballesteros visited his office yesterday morning.

“We will be giving P1 million this year after finding out about the amount given by the Capitol in previous years,” he told reporters yesterday,

The amount is bigger than the P500,000 that the Capitol gave when Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale took over as acting governor last year.

In 2010, then governor Gwendolyn Garcia released P2 million to the foundation and P3 million the year after.

Ballesteros said the donation would be a “big help” to cover the foundation’s expenses for the annual festival, which includes activities nine days leading to the grand parade.

“We understand, with everything that has happened in north Cebu, P1 million is already a good amount,” he said yesterday.

Davide also offered the use of Suroy Suroy tourist buses which the Capitol gave to its component cities and municipalities to transport dance contingents from towns and neighboring provinces.

Among 16 typhoon-affected areas in north Cebu, only Bogo City will send a delegation to the Sinulog.

Cites of Naga, Danao, Talisay and Mandaue and the towns of Ginatilan and Tuburan will also participate.

This is the second year in a row wherein the Capitol will not send a delegation to the Sinulog after participating in previous years.

Not dancing

Asked about the activities he’ll be joining during the festival, Davide said he and his wife, Jobel, will attend the opening mass before the Sinulog grand opening on the morning of Jan. 10.

Davide said he will not dance in the Sinulog grand parade, unlike Garcia who made it a tradition to perform during the festival’s final night.

“Kato kay chicks man to siya (Garcia). Ako di man ko kahibaw musayaw gyud. Di sad ko mag tuga-tuga kay mauwaw ta mag sayaw-sayaw. Kataw-an ta sa mga tawo,” the governor said in jest.

Last year, Garcia opted to leave the Capitol premises where she had holed up in defiance of the 90-day administrative suspension the Sandiganbayan served on her to dance onstage with her daughter Cristina Garcia Frasco and son-in-law Mayor Duke Frasco of Liloan.

The dance was Garcia’s ninth and final appearance in the Sinulog Grand Parade. The first was in 2004 when she was first elected governor.