Pasigarbo sa Sugbo assured of Cebu City’s full support

CEBU, Philippines — As this year’s Pasigarbo sa Sugbo draws near, the Cebu City government assured that it would deploy its personnel and resources to help make the event a success.

Cebu City Administrator Atty. Kristine Joyce Batucan reiterated this during the Pasigarbo coordination meeting held at the Capitol last Tuesday.

“If there is any other thing that [was] perhaps missed, definitely (Cebu City will provide, hangtud asa kutob namo kaya mosuporta, suporta gyod mi, Gov. Thank you for this opportunity, as well, nga maka-unite sad ta ninyo gyud as One Cebu Island,” she said, addressing Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

The governor, for her part, said that the Cebu City’s preparation for the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2024 is an achievement of “true unity” of the Cebu island.

“What a breath of fresh air listening to the assurance that the whole City Government of Cebu is in full support of the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo of the Province of Cebu,” she said.

“We will be showcasing not just the Pasigarbo, but…more important is the true unity that we have now achieved in the entire island of Cebu,” she added.

The Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2024 will be held at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) on August 25.

Cebu City Tourism Officer Neil Odchigue, on the other hand, said that they will deploy manpower from City Hall offices and departments to assist the contingents from the different towns and cities of the province that are arriving in Cebu City this week.

He also said that sufficient number of policemen, traffic enforcers, and other personnel would be deployed to assist in the hosting of the Pasigarbo.

In particular, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office will also coordinate with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to prepare for the event.

Ochigue said medical volunteers from Cebu City Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and the City Health Department will also be working together, as he assured that there will be an infirmary inside the CCSC’s dance sport area as well as medical stations at the oval area in cases of emergency during the event.

He likewise said that the City Government is taking the initiative to provide buses for all contingents as they travel from their billeting quarters to the CCSC and back.

“For the stationing of the buses, even if wala pa man gyud sad mu-express ang other LGUs nga mag-require sila og bus, but to this gov, all of the 22 buses of Cebu City will be deployed to shuttle in all of the contingents that will require transpo from their billeting sites to the rehearsal venue and back,” he said.

The pick-up point for the contingents that will be billeted in the southern area of the city is at the Cebu City Central School and the Asian College of Technology (ACT) area for those at the northern section of the city.

Odchigue assured that the deployed traffic management team, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP), will assist in the traffic flow as each contingent travel to the CCSC, especially during their stage blocking from 12 a.m. of August 22 to 4 a.m. of August 24.

Moreover, the city will also provide parking areas for LGU contingents that bring wing vans and vehicles in the transport of their props and other materials, to prevent school parking areas from being congested.

Those billeted in schools in the south should park their vehicles at the South Road Properties (SRP) Bagsakan, while those in the northern schools should do so at Block 27 at the North Reclamation Area.

The Cebu City government, through the Local School Board (LSB), and Department of Education (DepEd)-Cebu City Division have assured that at least 30 schools would be made available as billeting quarters for the 51 LGUs who might need to stay in the city.

Odchigue said these schools underwent facelift and renovation as part of preparations for the Palarong Pambansa 2024, which Cebu City hosted on July 6 to 16.

“On oing gihapon atong mga other preparations para ma-address tong mga concerns with water and electricity,” he said, adding that their contingency plan is to have plumbers and electricians on standby at the billeting areas.

In particular, the LSB will 244 personnel to assist, with 132 of them serving as drivers, plumbers, electricians, and warehouse personnel.

Odchigue said the Department of Public Services of the City Government is also currently doing siphoning of the schools’ septic tanks. He assured Portabaths and porthalets will also be provided by the city.

The final meeting for the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2024, which would include the private sponsors, will be on August 22.

In terms of security, Cebu City emergency units, the Cebu City Transportation Office, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would be deploying personnel for Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2024.

Cebu City will also provide 15 ambulances, with six to eight stationed at the CCSC, in addition to the 15 ambulances, each with doctors and nurses, from the Cebu Provincial Government.

A total of 300 personnel from the BFP, comprising two teams of special and rescue forces, will be deployed, with four ambulances on standby at the CCSC.

The PCG, on the other hand, would provide emergency response teams, including nurses, along with four to eight K9 units, to help ensure the safety of the venue.

The AFP would also provide several teams of Explosive Ordnance Disposal tams and K9 units, and will seek clearance from DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education for National Service Training Program force multipliers to help

CCPO is also set to receive over a thousand policemen as augmentation personnel from various units of Police Regional Office-7. The CPPO, on the other hand, would provide security escorts as well as communication equipment to the contingents, particularly as they travel from their town of city to Cebu City.

In a separate interview, Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, CCPO deputy city director for operations, said they already conducted a walkthrough of the route for the upcoming Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.

"Akong ipadayag lang is walay angay kabalak-an ang atong community, especially naa baya’y dagko nga incident lang recently. Ang atong anti-criminality effort will not be affected and it is in place. Actually gi-strengthen pa gyud nato,” she said.  — (FREEMAN)