It’s a treat for Cebu City residents.
All 80 barangays in the city can have a venue for free public viewing of Sunday’s big fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Cebu city government is shouldering the pay-per-view cost of the broadcast from Las Vegas using a P400,000 allocation from the city’s budget of aid to barangays.
Jose Daluz III said each barangay is entitled to identify a designated viewing area where their constituents could gather to watch what is dubbed as the “fight of the century.”
Daluz, a City Hall legal officer, said that as of Thursday 62 barangays, mostly allied with Team Rama, have shown interest in implementing this.
Barangays will receive a cable box from cable TV company Cignal with free installation. They get to keep the cable box after Sunday’s fight.
The 18 other barangays have until today to signify their interest to avail of the Pacquiao-Mayweather free viewing.
Daluz said the cost of the pay-per-view will be charged to the city’s P800-million allocation for aid to barangays.
Each of Cebu City’s 80 barangays are qualified to avail of P10 million worth of assistance from the city government this year provided they submit a development plan and seek city council approval before the release of the allocation.
The budget allocation for aid to barangays is part of the 2015 budget. Daluz said this means there is no more need to seek city council approval for the pay-per-view offer.
The participating barangay only needs to pass a resolution to allow the cost of the pay-per-view to be charged against its share of aid. The barangay aid is managed by the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and not the city council, Daluz added.
Mayor Michael Rama said in an earlier interview that he wanted all Cebuanos to watch Sunday’s fight.
“Let’s bring the world to see, bring Cebu to see, the fight of a lifetime,” he said.