Mike Rama ‘offended’ at not being invited to Sinulog 2025

By: Pia Piquero - Multimedia Reporter - CDN Digital | January 28,2025 - 08:30 PM

Dismissed Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, January 28, to say that he was offended by being ignored during the preparations for Sinulog 2025. | CDN Photo/ Pia Piquero

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dismissed Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said that he was offended over being excluded from this year’s Sinulog preparations.

Rama, who called for a press conference on Tuesday, January 28, said that he felt disrespected.

At the same time, he criticized Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia and the organizing team for their lack in “good manners and right conduct.”

READ: LIST: Sinulog Festival 2025 winners

“I am really taking offense at what they have done, degrading the existence of Sinulog Foundation. Mao rani nga Sinulog preparation nga wala ka meeting physically ang board of trustees, and I am taking offense about what happened,” he said.

Rama, who claims that he remains the chairman of SFI’s board of trustees despite his dismissal from government office, took offense at being left out of critical discussions and decisions for the festival, which he described as “poorly managed.”

READ: Sinulog 2025: 4M people crowd Cebu City

He lamented that the SFI board, a body traditionally involved in Sinulog’s direction and policy-making, was completely disregarded throughout the planning process.

The former mayor also pointed out the lack of physical meetings among board members and questioned the competence of those now managing the event.

READ: For better or for worse: The ‘old’ Sinulog is back

Shortcomings

Moreover, Rama raised concerns about safety, traffic, and organizational shortcomings during the celebration. He claimed that there were issues with crowd control and prolonged traffic congestion that affected the public.

“Kumusta ang crowd control? Kumusta ang religiosity? Kumusta ang spirituality? Historical? Family relations? Dako kaayo ang Sinulog. Ayaw lang ko pangutan-a ninyo. Naa bay hapit nag stampede? Naa bay mga nawong gihugaw-hugawan? Ikatulo, pila ka oras ang traffic? Ang akong nahibal-an tulo ka oras,” he said.

READ: Sinulog 2025: 290 tons of garbage collected from parade route

He further criticized the festival’s souvenir program, which he said prioritized commercial interests, and accused the organizers of putting financial gain above the event’s cultural and historical essence.

Rama claimed that sponsorships had overshadowed the festival’s spiritual and religious roots.

“Kaso lang nahibong ko, mao na ni ang souvenir program. Ambot ngano Bingo Plus na ni ang tupad niya,” he said.

READ: Garcia restores original Sinulog theme for 2025, drops Rama’s plan

The former mayor said politics should not dictate the Sinulog, pointing out that the foundation was established to shield the event from political influence. He implied that current city officials had overstepped their boundaries, disregarding the foundation’s intended role.

“I do not know unsay itsura sa ila launching. Ilaha na because I disown that launching. As chairman sa SFI, di gyud ko mo-own because I was never invited. Dili man ko killjoy, then I said to myself, there will be a proper time. Wala na may labot ang Sinulog Foundation, wala na man gani labot ang chairman,” Rama said.

READ: Mike Rama: Sinulog 2025 ‘must be in SRP’

Internal policies

Meanwhile, in a separate interview on Tuesday, Garcia explained that the execution and operations of the Sinulog fell under the Executive Committee (Execom) and the president of SFI, Engineer Ricky Dakay.

He noted that the board of trustees, where Rama serves as the chairman, primarily sets the policies but does not get involved in day-to-day operations. Garcia maintained that SFI had internal policies that dictated the separation of roles between the board and the execution team.

“As chairman, he could have the board of trustees nga mag-meeting sila, set the direction for the exec-comm to follow. I don’t know if they did that,” he said.

Garcia admitted that while there were collaborations between the city government and SFI, the planning and execution of security, crowd control, and other logistical matters were primarily handled by the local government.

He dismissed Rama’s claims of exclusion, asserting that the former mayor’s involvement was limited since he no longer holds a government post. However, Garcia suggested that questions about SFI’s internal planning should be directed to Dakay.

“Wala ko kahibaw unsay iya pasabot nga wala siya gi-invite. Ug moingon siyag wala siya gi-invite sa planning sa Cebu City Government, naturally kay dili naman siya government official. Pero ang planning sa SFI, adto ipangutana ni Engr. Ricky Dakay because that’s beyond me,” Garcia added.

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