Coordinate, not ban, street parties

CEBU, Philippines — Instead of implementing a total ban on street parties during the Sinulog festivities, these should instead be thoroughly coordinated with the Cebu City Government and the local police, as suggested by the Committee on Peace and Order of the Cebu City Council.

The same committee also backed the plan to impose a liquor ban and emphasized that there is no need to implement a signal jam during the celebration.

Previously, Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said he is keen on issuing an executive order regulating liquor during the Sinulog but has yet to decide on street parties.

He said there may be an executive order banning liquor consumption within 200 to 300 meters from the Sinulog parade route.

Councilor Philip Zafra, chairman of the Committee on Peace and Order, said he will recommend maintaining the status quo of the guidelines implemented during the previous Sinulog celebration.

This includes ensuring proper coordination between those wishing to organize street parties and the city and police authorities, instead of implementing a total ban on street parties.

Those wishing to hold a street party must obtain a permit from the Office of the City Mayor so authorities can monitor their activities and include them in deployment plans.

"Tungod sa kadako sa activities Cebu, sa kadaghan og ganahan mohimo og activities on top of Sinulog, and with the limited numbers of the police, we could not just hold any activities without first coordinating with us kay mag-deploy man g’yud tag police, firemen, emergency," said Zafra.

In line with this, Zafra suggested, through the Cebu City administrator, gathering all bar owners and directing the Business Permit and Licensing Office to strictly monitor them.

Zafra said they are leaning toward this plan, acknowledging that Sinulog is a fiesta and includes various forms of celebration, including street parties.

"There should be proper coordination with us, and our regulations should be respected," said Zafra.

Should Garcia agree to these recommendations, Zafra said the police are ready to be deployed. However, he admitted there are still those who get caught violating the regulations.

With this, Zafra said they will deploy more security measures in these areas, adding that most of the street parties during the last Sinulog didn’t even have permits and weren’t properly coordinated.

Zafra noted that Cebu City has limited police personnel and that they will need to seek reinforcement from the province and the region. He added that among the factors they must consider is the route, which has returned to the city proper, as the Sinulog grand parade and showdown will also return to the Cebu City Sports Center.

Zafra said there may be several complications along the parade route which may also affect the movement of responses and emergencies.

Regarding the liquor ban, Zafra said he will respect Garcia's decision. He admitted that in previous years, liquor led to incidents disrupting the peace and order of the Sinulog celebration.

As for the signal jam, Zafra said he will suggest that there be no signal jam as it has always been his opinion that it isn’t advisable during the Sinulog, given that the primary means of communication is through phones.

"But at the end of the day, we will always abide by what is best, in terms of peace and order; sila (the police) man g’yud ang mas knowledgeable ana," said Zafra. –BRP (CEBU NEWS)