TO AVOID a rowdy crowd and any untoward incidents during the Sinulog Festival, the Cebu City government is implementing stricter rules for the annual celebration.
Although he had not yet signed the executive order (EO), Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he would shut down establishments violating the one day liquor ban that he planned to implement next year.
Osmeña said all the establishments within 300 meters from the routes of the Sinulog parade would not be allowed to sell any alcoholic beverages.
Business permits of establishments violating the order would be revoked and the establishments would be closed.
“Right now, it gets out of control. My message is to tone it down. So (it means) no drinking,” he said.
He said this move would be to lessen, if not eliminate, the usual scene of a crowd of drunken people and ensure peace and order.
He said this would also lessen his fear of lawless elements trying to cause trouble during the event.
As much as possible, he said, he would want to lessen the crowd and avoid alcohol-soaked parties.
He said his thrust is to tone down the celebration by making it “smaller and not longer, bigger or noisier.”
“My fear is very simple. If a bomb explodes, how do you control that when everybody is drunk? The damage is more than the bomb itself because people will panic,” he said.
He also designated Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters, to monitor the security of the whole event.
“If one person had to be blamed if any untoward incident would happen, then it would be the deputy mayor for police matters,” Osmeña said.
“If something goes wrong, I know who to shoot and that is Dave Tumulak. That is the way I operate,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said he would leave it to Tumulak to decide on the EO for the celebration.
“I haven’t signed it (EO). It is up to the boss. The boss is Dave. He is the conductor of the orchestra. I am very careful not to amend what he is doing,” he said.