There is a disease that is slowly and silently gnawing at the Sinulog from within and which, if left untended, could very well lead to its untimely demise. The disease is called hooliganism. And while it has not yet erupted into the classic examples of criminal violence usually associated with football games, it is creeping inexorably on its way there.
This hooliganism -- you may call it rowdyism at this time in the absence of any open outbreaks of violence -- started to rear its ugly head a few years back but it was only in this year's Sinulog that its presence can no longer be ignored, what with clear evidences of damage to property and verifiable personal complaints of harassment and inconvenience being reported.
Here are a few examples. On Ramon Aboitiz Street near the Redemptorist Church, an unattended car parked in a commercial complex suffered a damaged roof and a broken windshield because drunk hooligans jumped on it and used the vehicle as a dance floor to an after-Sinulog party that was going on. This street and its connector roads like Juana Osmeña have already gained notoriety as strips of hell to motorists who have the misfortune of finding themselves there.
Another street that has become a hell strip is Arlington Pond. After this year's Sinulog, hooligans took over the street to have a party. Again, motorists who happened to have the misfortune of turning into this short thoroughfare were stopped and harassed. Drunken men and women sprayed beer on the vehicles, smudged paint or dirt on them, and danced and stomped on the roofs and banged on the sides. Women rolled and gyrated lasciviously on the hoods.
Is this what the Sinulog has become? Is this what the Sinulog is all about? Is this the picture of Cebu City we want to project to others? Many of those in the cars and taxis caught in these roads of hell and other places like them were visitors. And while none of them were apparently hurt or harmed, the scare the experience gave them will be a nightmare that will take a long time to live down, a nightmare they will keep repeating to others when they go back to their own homes.
We agree that drinking cannot be removed from the picture because that is part of what a fiesta is all about. But the city government, as overall host of the event, cannot shirk from its responsibility of protecting everyone. Unfortunately, law and order was only evident during the course of the Sinulog parade. As soon as the last contingent vanished into the night, so did the security forces who were supposed to ensure the safety of everyone at all times.
It will be another year before the next Sinulog but now is a good time to start preparing for the other aspects needed for success that were clearly overlooked this time. Mayor Rama and the police should start their reviews early, like realizing the importance of keeping roads -- and we mean all roads, big or small -- open to traffic after the Sinulog parade. Nobody should be allowed to appropriate roads for use as a party place. And patrols should be sent out to make sure nobody does.