CEBU CITY, Philippines — Insufficient comfort rooms and shelter against the heat of the sun are two of the major concerns raised by performers and spectators of the Sinulog 2023 grand parade on Sunday, January 15.
Retchlan Batoctoy, 15, one of the performers from Barangay Pardo in Cebu City, shared the same concern with CDN Digital. However, he added that the new experience was so far okay with him.
“…okay ra, laban ra gihapon…kainit, kapasilungan, ug CR, lisod kaayo ipangihi,” Batoctoy said.
CDN Digital took a photo of some performers who used an empty space beside the grand parade route to pee.
It can be recalled that the city government placed portable CRs along the route and the venue for the ritual showdown but obviously these were not enough.
Some Sinulog performers can be seen using this vacant space at the SRP to relieve themselves due to the lack of comfort rooms at the venue. | Pegeen Maise Sararana
Aside from the insufficient number of portable CRs for the performers, lack of shelter from the heat of the sun was also one of their top concerns.
To address this, some performers used their props to shield themselves from the scorching sun. Even before the start of the grand parade, emergency responders already assisted several performers who felt dizzy because of the hot weather at that time.
Aside from that, they also attended to a one-year-old child who had a fever because of too much heat exposure earlier.
The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) is still collating the total number of incidents they responded to during the Sinulog 2023 activities.
At around 3 p.m. PAG-ASA noted a 29.0 Degree Celsius temperature (Heat Index is 34 Degrees Celsius).
Heat Index is the apparent temperature that the body will feel.
This was experienced while the grand parade is ongoing. The grand parade started around 11 a.m. and ended past 4 p.m. already.
Some performers, together with some propsmen and supporting staff, use their contingent’s props to cover themselves from the heat of the sun.
The Regional Medical and Dental Unit ( RMDU-7) also administered first aid to 15 individuals, both police and civilians. They are stationed inside the Multi-Agency Command Center.
The majority of those they assisted were policemen assigned on the ground who asked to have their blood pressure checked. Some asked for medicines.
Meanwhile, some spectators expressed happiness over their Sinulog saying the new venue at the SRP grounds made their experience way more comfortable. /RCG
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