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CEBU CITY, Philippines - Cebu City residents and visitors can expect grander Sinulog festivities next year even if the budget will not go up, organizers and officials said over the weekend.
?We have elements of surprises that we cannot mention as of now,? said Ricky Ballesteros, Executive Director of Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) following the conclusion of their Sinulog 2009 workshop last Saturday.
Budget concerns for next year's annual festival after the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a circular that prohibits allocation of funds by local government units (LGUs) to organizations headed by public officials or their relatives.
However, Cebu City officials found a way to go around the circular by deciding to donate the rest of the budget in kind, rather than cash.
Ballesteros said the 2009 Sinulog would be colorful despite the absence of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his wife Margot.
The couple would spend Christmas in the United States where the mayor would undergo cancer treatment that was expected to last for two to three months.
?We have not yet discussed but for sure during that time although we are hoping that they will be coming back but just in case na pa sila sa States on that time we will still plan on what to do,? Ballesteros said.
The grand dance finale will be a grandiose Polynesian inspired act with a stage theme that would suggest that ?Cebu is an Island in the Pacific.?
The Polynesian concept came up during the workshop conducted at the ground floor of the Sports Center at the Abellana National School. Almost 50 participants comprised of choreographers and delegates attended the workshop.
They decided to adopt a Polynesian motif since it costs cheaper than staging a Chinese-themed production. Ballesteros presented the stage plan last Friday to Mayor Osmeña at the Cebu City Sports Complex.
Ballesteros said the mayor was ?elated with the plan.? The workshop also orients delegates and choreographers on the guidelines for the presentation in the Sinulog program.
Among the regulations in place are the prohibition on using children aged three years old and below for the performance and the ban on dangerous stunts.
Ballesteros said the dancers can practice on a 14 by 44 meter area and they are prohibited from using props that stand more than 12 feet high since the backdrop is 16 feet high.
Ballesteros said the Polynesian-inspired finale will cost P1.8 million with around 250 dancers. The dance routes for next year are also extended from 4.3 kilometers to 5.1 kilometers. /with a report from Reporter Marian Z. Codilla
