Bonga Festival contingent from the Municipality of Sibonga during the Ritual Showdown of the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2023. | CDN Digital Photo by Christian Dave Cuizon
CEBU CITY, Philippines – This year’s Pasigarbo sa Sugbo has already culminated but there may be changes in the results.
The Cebu Provincial Government has decided to do a recomputation following the series of technical glitches that marred the ‘festival of festivals’’ culmination last Sunday, August 27, 2023, in Carcar City.
And Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia suspected that the technical errors, which interrupted some contingents’ performance during the Ritual Showdown, may have been intentional.
READ: Technical glitches mar Pasigarbo 2023
Garcia announced they postponed indefinitely the awarding ceremony, scheduled last Monday, August 28, as organizers agreed to review the tally of scores.
“There is no perfect decision but this decision will render fairness to all who have worked so hard,” she said.
The defending champion and this year’s host for the Pasigarbo, Carcar City, emerged as the big winner. They were the grand champion in both the Ritual Showdown and Street Dance competitions of the Pasigarbo.
Their festival queen, Jhesidy Thea Alberca, also bagged the title of this year’s Pasigarbo Festival Queen.
Pasigarbo ‘sabotage’?
Meanwhile, Garcia still blamed the company they hired to take charge of the audio and lights for the event for the audio and visual errors on Sunday’s event.
During a press conference on Monday, broadcasted live through the Capitol’s media arm Sugbo News, the governor called them out once again.
This time, however, she described the ‘technical boo-boos’ as sabotage.
According to Garcia, the owner of the sounds and lights firm failed to disclose to organizers that his kin joined the Pasigarbo Festival Queen, representing Carcar City.
“I’m calling it a sabotage because by the very fact alone that Mr. Alberca did not care to divulge that his own daughter was a candidate for Pasigarbo Festival Queen,” she said.
“That’s unethical to bleed suspicion by other people that the event was sabotaged,” added Garcia.
Pasigarbo results may change
The Capitol also blamed the technical errors for the low turnout of their online voting, which also prompted them to do a recomputation.
Garcia said the ‘online voting was severely affected by the lapses.’
“I’m warning all the mayors that results may change,” she added.
A total of 50 contingents participated in this year’s Pasigarbo which, for the first time, was held outside of its usual venue at the Cebu City Sports Complex (CCSC).
/bmjo
A special live coverage of the festival of festivals in the Province of Cebu.
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