Sinulog Festival

ADDITIONAL bleachers, better crowd control and enhanced cooperation with the business sector were among the recommendations given for next year's Sinulog festival.

Sinulog Foundation Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros disclosed this as he commended the city police for enforcing security and managing traffic congestion for the duration of the festival.

“Crowd control has been a perennial problem ever since but for this year, we commend the police in maintaining peace. This year, there's no report of untoward incidents,” Ballesteros told CEBU DAILY NEWS.

Due to the limited police personnel, Ballesteros said public cooperation is essential in maintaining order amid the revelry.

“Spectators should also give space for the contingents to dance on the streets freely,” he said.

In the absence of a bigger venue, Ballesteros said more bleachers should be set up along the parade route to accommodate those who don't have tickets at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), the main venue for the Sinulog dance presentations.

“The South Road Properties (SRP) is still not developed since there are still no trees and the heat can cause some to get heatstroke. So the best place as of now is still the same route,” he said.

Edward Hayco, Cebu City Sports Commission chairman, said additional bleachers can accommodate more people, but the CCSC can only seat a maximum of 12,000 spectators.

Ballesteros said they will ask the Cebu Contractors Association to set up more bleachers along the parade route at Osmeña Boulevard.

For his part Nestor Jardin, chairman of the board of judges for free-interpretation, said choreographers and other production specialists should attend workshops sponsored by the Sinulog Foundation Inc. to improve their performances for next year.

Jardin said the judges were disappointed with the performances of some of the contingents. Reporter Marian Z. Codilla