Mandaue targets more viewers as horror booth revived

CEBU, Philippines - Last year's 7.2-magnitude quake may have scampered them away, but the zombies are back this year in Mandaue City.

The city government is set to reborn the "Horror Booth sa Mandaue" project after a momentary hiatus in 2013 brought about by the powerful tremor and its aftershocks.

Sarah Walker-Cortes, chairwoman of the Mandaue City Council for the Protection of Children which is the project's main organizer, said they are expecting to draw in more crowds this year, banking on last year's demand that was left uncomplemented because of the calamity.

To be held in cooperation with the Kaabag Foundation, this year's show will be the seventh for Mandaue City. The booth will be stalled inside the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

Walker-Cortes revealed that the cast, who are members of the city's gay society called "Manpride," was supposed to stage the show last year but the city government made a last-minute cancellation for safety reasons.

This year, a 60-man cast composed of Manpride and Pwersayaw group members will be manning the booth in two shifts from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 12 midnight starting October 29 to November 2.

In the past, only the members of Manpride were tapped for the horror booth but because of the energy-draining nature of the show, Walker-Cortes said they have also utilized the talents of Pwersayaw group to complement Manpride. 

Walker-Cortes, who is the wife of Mayor Jonas Cortes, said in order to invite more crowds in, they have added innovations to the performances of the cast that will "scare more people" this year.

She, however, declined to disclose the new gimmicks, saying it's for the public to discover.

Organizers said the booth this year is also getting bigger after they decided to make a longer maze with three chambers.

They have described performances in the first chamber as "child-friendly" where children below 11 years old can be entertained in the company of their parents and guardians.

The other two chambers, exclusively allotted for adult audience, will showcase "a higher level of scare" with characters of aswangs, zombies, tiyanaks and draculas lurking inside the booth.

The theme this year is "Kahadlok Mo, Kalipay Ko." Entrance is pegged at P20.

The project's proceeds, according to organizers, will be spent for a Christmas party of 650 indigent children in the city who will be chosen and identified by barangay captains and coordinators. The children will also bring home some goodies for their families.

It was learned that in 2012, the horror booth in Mandaue City earned a net income of P334,000. — Flor Z. Perolina (FREEMAN)