The Sinulog and the Pope's visit: A postcript
Because it was the last day for the Papal visit, I stayed home except when I had to leave for lunch with the whole family in SM and returned home right away so I would not miss the record-breaking Holy Mass at the Luneta with Pope Francis, which was live on all TV networks. Of course, I did occasionally shifted to SkyCable's channel 61 so I could get a live feed and watch the Sinulog Festival at the same time.
But it was really the first time I was not on the parade route. I joined the very first Sinulog around the Sto. Niño Basilica because it was just a coincidence that the Pope was also here at the same time. From the TV coverage of SkyCable and the many photos that were posted by my friends in Facebook, including last Saturday's solemn procession of the Senyor Sto. Niño, I believe that the Pope's visit has not caused any drop in the attendance to the Sinulog Festival. If there was any drop at all, it was probably due to the fact that shipping was not allowed last Saturday because of typhoon "Amang". But flight schedules were not disrupted.
But to the amazement of many tourists and balikbayans, they were surprised that when you passed along Gen. Maxilom Ave. (Mango Ave.) yesterday morning, the roads have been cleared of the tons of debris left by the partygoers. Compared this to the tons of debris left behind at the Luneta after the Holy Mass with Pope Francis. Kudos to our street cleaners!
My nephew Chris Avila showed me a video that he took at 2:00AM Monday dawn from the rooftop of our building in Mango Ave. and it showed that the epicenter of the riotous parties in the aftermath of the Sinulog Parade was from Fuente Osmeña to Mango Ave. He and his friends went home at 4:00AM. This is the very reason why I did not bother go to my office in Juana Osmeña as you would have a great difficulty passing through the huge sardine-like crowds who by that time were nearly stoned drunk!
Yes, last Thursday I was with the delegation of one hundred pilgrims from the Cebu Archdiocese that flew to Manila to meet Pope Francis at the Arena Stadium in the Mall of Asia. It was my first time in that stadium and from the looks of it, it was a near replica of the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas when I saw the Houston Rockets play there. So many roads were closed leading to the MOA. And no one could enter unless you had your I.D. and a ticket on your person.
Anyway, last Saturday I was the chaperone of our disabled friends to see Pope Francis for the Encounter with Families at the arena in the Mall of Asia. As we arrived, we were given access immediately and had no problem entering inside despite the very long queues. But inside it was a different story as the gatekeepers stopped us from entering. I protested that the disabled had priority and considered a VIP. But they told us that the ground level was already full. Yet they still allowed able-bodied people to enter. This was already at 12 noon. We ended up going to the lower box section opposite the stage where Pope Francis would be. While we did have a great view, we had no chance of getting near the Pope.
I met a lot of friends inside. Notable amongst them was Gigi Grande of ABS-CBN who remembered me as we were together during an international press conference called by Continental Airlines in its headquarters in Houston, Texas. ABS-CBN's Jing Castañeda and Philippine Star reporter Pia Brago and a reporter from the Inquirer all interviewed our PWDs. Manila's glitterati was also present with former House Speaker Joe de Venecia, Manny Villar, Tess Prieto Valdez and Bo Sanchez were on the same floor.
Now if the entire Archdiocese from all over the country followed the guidelines strictly like what the Cebu Archdiocese did, there would have been a lot of space for all inside the arena. Granted that there are 80 provinces all over the country and there are 80 archdioceses, then the total number of delegates would only be 8,000. But then one of the organizers of the event who knew me told me that they were afraid that having only 8,000 people inside the arena that has an 18,000 seating capacity would look empty when the Pope comes. So in the end the Arena was opened to Manila's rich.
I monitored all the speeches of Pope Francis and kept hard copies for my file. In my book, there were two speeches of Pope Francis that truly struck many Catholics. The first was during our Encounter with the Families when he warned the families of the threats to destroy the family unit.
Of course Pope Francis did not have to say exactly what threatened the families of today but we know it is the Reproductive Health Law. For the Pope's Encounter with the Youth, the Pope said, "But you lack only one thing... Become a beggar! This is what you lack... learn how to beg. It is not easy to understand how to learn how to beg. To learn how to receive with humility. To learn how to love and learn to be loved." We heard it loud and clear!
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