This month, vendors were allowed to set up their stalls along the parade route barely a month ahead of the event (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)
Officials of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI), the police and staff of the Cebu City mayor’s office held a walk-through inspection along the Sinulog Grand Parade route yesterday, barely a month before the event.
SFI Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros, who led the inspection along with the Departments of Social Welfare and Services, Engineering and Public Works, said the inspection will help identify the assembly points and judging stations.
The route for the grand parade, which falls on the third week of January, starts at General Maxilom Avenue going to Fuente Osmeña rotunda, Osmeña Boulevard and ends at Cebu City Sports Center.
Ballesteros said Natalio Bacalso Ave. will serve as exit points for buses and other vehicles. It will also serve as a waiting area for the contingents.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for public safety, announced that the route should be free from any obstructions to ensure a smooth parade.
This year’s Sinulog Grand Parade route featured billboards showcasing tourism destinations in the province (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
He said the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) is tasked to confiscate any obstruction along the parade route.
“Including those signages that encroach on the sidewalk, it can impose threat to the people,” he said.
Closed-circuit TV cameras (CCTV) of all establishments along the route should be functioning to monitor the parade, Tumulak said. The Cebu City Police Office said it is ready to secure the Sinulog Festival, considered among the country’s premier festivals.
Chief Insp. David Señor, the city police’s operations chief, said at least 2,000 police will be deployed during the event. He said they will clear all obstructions in the streets, particular the route for Sinulog, three weeks prior to the festival.
Señor said their main problem is always the rowdy crowd especially the party goers at Juana Osmeña Street.
“We’ll double our shifting in that area because that’s where the problem always starts,” Señor said.