P12M for Mandaue fiesta activities

CEBU, Philippines — The Mandaue City government has allocated P12 million for the Mandaue City Mid-year Cultural Summit 2018, a celebration in line with the Feast of Saint Joseph on May 8.

This was announced in last Thursday's fiesta launch led by Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna.

Of the given budget, City Treasurer Regal Oliva explained that the P10 million will be for the different activities of the summit.

The remaining P2 million will be allocated for the sports activities led by City Councilor Kevin Cabahug.

The opening of the City Fiesta Olympics will be on April 29.  Basketball, volleyball, arnis, and tennis are among the sports activities of the fiesta.

There will be celebrities who will be present during the different activities.

In his speech, Fortuna said the Mandauehanons can expect “a lot of fun, wit and humor and a lot of activities” for their fiesta this year.

Oliva, on the other hand, announced that there will be changes in the fiesta activities this year.

There will be no coronation of the queen, prince and princess, and Gugmang Giatay Bisrock musical play, as this will be replaced with "Palengke Queen" on April 29 and "Miss Gay Jurassic" on May 5, due to public demand, Oliva said.

Meanwhile, lawyer Mae Elaine Bathan, chief-of-staff of the city mayor, said that they will strictly observe the election ban within the whole duration of the summit.

Eco-wardens and eco-enforcers as well as police officers will be deployed for security.

"While we are having fun, we are still taking care of our policies and surroundings,” Bathan said.

During the launch, the candidates for this year’s Miss Mandaue and the Mandaue Gay Pageant were presented to the media.

The coronation of Miss Mandaue will be on May 6, while the Mandaue Gay Pageant will be on May 9. (FREEMAN)