EDITORIAL - What’s going on with the SFI?

Just straight from the controversy to give exclusive rights to the broadcasting of Sinulog activities at the Cebu City Sports Center, it seems the Sinulog Foundation Inc. finds itself mired in another one.

This after it was found that SFI told a Cebu-based processed food company that they cannot sell their products during the Sinulog activities or along the Grand Parade route.

Fortunately, Cebu City mayor Edgardo Labella was quick to step in and say that local producers can sell food during the Sinulog activities as well as the Grand Parade route as long as they comply with the requirements set by the city.

Even if SFI was able to enter into this contract with an exclusive food provider, how would they have been able to enforce it? Are they really willing to post guards or people to watch every meter of the Grand Parade route ready to pounce on any vendor selling other food products?

Not to mention the message they will give if they turn the Sinulog into an “exclusive” celebration. If only one network is allowed to broadcast the activities in the sports center, if only one company is allowed to sell food, does that mean only the huge networks, companies, and the like can profit from Sinulog?

What on earth is going on with the SFI? It seems like they lost all the experience they gained from managing previous editions of the Sinulog and are starting back from square one.

Is it because they are desperate to earn more money compared to the last Sinulog which was under a rival administration? Is it because there is a lot of miscommunication, or no communication at all, within the foundation? Or is it because all that experience running the Sinulog went out the door after Vice Mayor Mike Rama quit the foundation? You can’t blame people for thinking this way or that way about the recent developments with the SFI.

This also makes people wonder what other blunders they might have committed that aren’t known to the public.

The SFI better get its act together. Just in case they forgot, tomorrow is the big day. It’s the biggest day Cebu has to promote it rich cultural heritage and the warmth of its people not just to the rest of the country but also the rest of the world.

Let’s hope they didn’t enter into any more exclusive contracts, deals, or arrangements that will make the Sinulog controversial.