About P2 million has been added by the Mandaue City Government to the P600,000 subsidy its contingent has received from the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI), according to John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.
The Lapu-Lapu City Government for its part has allocated P1 million for its contingent, an addition to the P800,000 subsidy from SFI, said John Kristoffer Rafols, officer-in-charge of Lapu-Lapu City Tourism Department.
Rafols said the city’s contingent were on its way to complete its rehearsals for the One Cebu Island Sinulog Festival 2023, which will be held at the South Road Properties in Cebu City on Sunday, Jan. 15.
Lapu-Lapu’s contingent comprises 450 individuals, including dancers, props men and instrumentalists, among others. They started their practice in the third week of December last year.
The city’s Garbo sa Lapu-Lapu Festival will take centerstage in their Sinulog presentation, and their contingent will showcase the city’s products and the city’s resiliency despite the ill-effects on the economy brought about by Typhoon Odette (Rai) on Dec. 16, 2021 and the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Mayor Junard Chan, he said trying to win in the Sinulog is not the sole aim of their contingent.
“The most important nga makahalad ta ngadto sa atong mahal nga Señor Sto. Niño agi’g pagpasalamat sa iyang gugma ug grasya nga iyang gihatag kanato nga kita nabalik-balik na ang ekonomiya sa Cebu,” he said.
(The most important thing that we can do is honor our beloved Señor Sto. Niño and give thanks to Him for His love and blessings that He showered upon us. Cebu’s economy has been on the right track.)