Last Friday, the culminating activities of the feast in honor of the Sto. Niño started with a dawn procession. The Walk with Mary was attended by about 250,000 devotees and was followed by the traslacion which brought the Birhen sa Guadalupe and the Sto. Niño to the Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City through a longer route.
Saturday morning was the fluvial parade, which transported the Sto. Niño and Birhen sa Guadalupe back to Cebu City, this time on a “galleon” through the Mactan Channel. At the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, following a short march from Pier 1, there was a reenactment of the first Mass, first baptism and first wedding.
In the afternoon was the grand procession attended by a crowd estimated at 2 million. Nearly all the people basically observed peace and order. This may be considered the culmination of the religious aspect of the annual feast which once again demonstrated the miracle of a multitude of people paying homage to the Holy Child.
On Sunday as early as 3 a.m., contingents started assembling in their designated areas for the Sinulog grand parade, with a carousel route leading to the center stage of the Cebu City Sports Complex stage. The parade officially started at 9 a.m. with Vice President Jejomar Binay, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
A holy Mass preceded the official opening. There were fewer contingents this year but this did not diminish the quality of the performances. I stayed home the whole day and watched the parade and stage performances on TV. I observed a vast improvement in the dance contingents.
The performances were more precise, the dancers showed synchronized movements. Props were more colorful and the choreography more innovative. Though we see the same groups perform each year, this year’s show was more exciting. The judges had difficulty picking winners for the Free Interpretation and Sinulog-based categories.
Out-of-town contingents came very well prepared.
I think the performances were at their best because the participants do this more as a personal homage to the Holy Child than a desire to win the cash prizes in the competition.
What I like about the festival is that it has revelry and religiosity rolled into one. It shows the Catholic devotion of Cebuanos to the Holy Child. That is one reason Cebu is blessed with many things, a generosity we would like to thank Him for.
I would like to congratulate all the contingents for a job well done, the organizers in the Sinulog Foundation, the Cebu city and provincial governments, the Archdiocese of Cebu, the police for maintaining peace and order, and the others who we may have failed to name.
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President Aquino vetoed the proposed bill that would have provided additional cash benefits of P2,000 to SSS pensioners. His action naturally got the ire of SSS members. Some Liberal Party members worried about a potential backlash on administration candidates especially on presidential candidate Mar Roxas.
Some disgruntled SSS pensioners could not understand why the President rejected the proposal while he approved other proposals that allow government spending like the adjusted Salary Standardization Law that increased the salaries of all government employees, the large salaries and bonuses of SSS executives and expenses for the PDAF and DAP.
President Aquino explained that he rejected the proposal to protect the existence of the SSS. Still, many members refused to listen and lamented that P2,000 additional cash assistance to members would have gone a long way. The government is trying its best to meet the needs of SSS pensioners. We hope everything turns out well.
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