The Santo Niño is the alpha and the omega of tomorrow's celebration, not the street dancing, not the eating or drinking, not business, tourism or any other secular distractions. It is just like Christmas; focus on the Baby Jesus, not on the gifts of the three kings, not on Santa Claus or on the many commercial symbols. The problem with all of us is loss of proper focus, loss of the right perspectives. We are losing our path.
The leaders who plan the celebration should always remember to call the attention of both the hosts and the visitors alike that this is not a pagan festival but primarily, essentially, and necessarily a religious celebration and the focus should be on the Holy Child, not on the costumes of the street dancers, or on the colors and the sounds of the drumbeats. The Santo Niño had been with us since April 7, 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan planted the cross on the shore of Cebu now fronting the Cebu City Hall. Magellan later gifted the image of the Holy Child to Hara Amihan, later christened Queen Juana, wife of Rajah Human. Hence, the image of the Holy Child, which is now enshrined inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, is no less than 502 years with us.
On the other hand, the Sinulog dance originated from the first 800 Cebuanos, who were baptized in 1521. That was intended as a solemn and religious offering to the Holy Child. In 1980, during the time of martial law, under president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., there was a regional director of the then Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, David Odilao, who organized the first ever Sinulog Parade which started from Plaza Independencia all the way to Fuente Osmeña. The top educational institutions in Cebu, like the University of the Visayas, SWU, USC, USP, the then Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos, and CIT sent contingents of dancers. From then on, it started an annual festival which became bigger and bigger with the support of the city and provincial governments.
Later, Odilao turned over the management of the Sinulog to the Cebu City Historical Committee, then headed by Kagawad Jesus B. Garcia, Jr (brother of Alvin Garcia, later the mayor) and uncle of incumbent Raymond Garcia. All the mayors of Cebu City supported the annual celebration with money, manpower, and management. It is now embedded in the annual budget of the city government. The non-Catholic taxpayers have not questioned the use of public funds for religious purposes. Perhaps the reason for their tolerance is that this activity could be justified as a component of the history and culture of Cebu, which are legitimate concerns of the city government.
We have nothing against the Sinulog as an indigenous Cebuano festival. Our beef is on the matter of main focus. Many businessmen consider Sinulog as an opportune time to jack up rates of hotel rooms, airline tickets, shipping and bus fares, and even car rentals and taxi fares. The operators violate regulatory rates, making hay and taking advantage of the influx of tourist arrivals. Restaurants and coffee shops and even fast food chains tend to hike their charges during the Sinulog. There are tourists who come to Cebu not really to venerate the Holy Child but to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy, as if there is no more tomorrow. Many do not even visit the basilica or hear mass. Thus, the whole thing is losing its focus. We seem to have forgotten the reason for the season.
We are not judging the values and priorities of others. We are only reminding one and all that the center of the celebration tomorrow is and should always be the Church. It is and should always be a spiritual exercise, a solemn and sacred religious celebration, not a pagan offering to the gods of Mount Olympus. Whenever we shout "Pit Señor", we should not focus on the "Pit" but on the "Señor".