CEBU, Philippines - Smaller crowd, bigger proceeds.
This was the double-edged results of this year’s Sugat sa Guadalupe as assessed by the Parish Pastoral Council of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Cebu City.
PPC president Ricardo Delos Reyes yesterday said they have raised a total of P535,600 minus the total expenses of P290,549 leaving a net proceeds of P245,051.
This was higher than last year’s net proceeds of P61,626 from a total of P288,000 solicitations minus P227,000 expenses.
Delos Reyes attributed the increase in funds raised to the higher minimum solicitation.
“We expected this now since our solicitation is at P1,000 plus the effort of mandated organizations and cooperation compared with last year’s P500,†Delos Reyes explained.
Funds raised by Guadalupe’s Easter Sunday celebration has been used for the reconstruction of the Parish convent.
This initiative was started in 2011 when Monsignor Montecillo took over as parish priest.
The total cost of project is P17,970,848. As of March 31, delos Reyes said they already paid P6.425 million and the project is already 60 percent done.
In 2012, a total of P453,000 was obtained from donation envelopes while expenses amounted to P248,000.
As to the crowd turnout, the PPC president estimated the devotees to have reached 4,000 lower than last year’s 7,000.
Some devotees shared their reactions towards the Sugat Pagkabanhaw at Guadalupe Parish Church.
Melissa Pagaran, 76, has been attending the said event since 1970 and according to her, it was an honor to witness the play on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For a 36-year old mother who was bringing five children with her admitted she had the difficulty in looking after her children.
Another devotee from Argao said he and his family really enjoyed gracing the celebration in different areas and municipalities in Cebu and it was their first time to witness the event in Guadalupe.
A security personnel of the Guadalupe Parish quadrangle reported no accidents in the place during the said celebration.
In Minglanilla where the famous Sugat-Kabanhawan Festival is held every year also reported the increase of spectators from 20,000 inside the sports complex from 15,000 last year according to the police.
According to Minglanilla police chief, Senior Insp. Richard Dinopol Gadingan, the large number of people congested from Tulay to the entire Poblacion area.
During the mass prior to the Sugat-Kabanhawan staging, Rev. Fr. Arnie Visitacion thanked the municipal officials for security and agreement of having no disco.
Filomeno Sayson, 19, who played the role of Jesus twice already, felt honored to be chosen for the second time, while Pontius Pilate who was portrayed by the first-timer Scott Remy Cabreros, 19, dedicated his performance in servitude of God.
The police had deployed 100 police personnel to monitor the event and had worked hand-in-hand with the Minglanilla Traffic Commission (MITCOM) and the barangay tanods.
There was no reported injured during the said event. However, there were some victims of thieves and pickpockets who reported at the police station.— Jessa J. Agua with Joeylen A. de la Cruz, NORSU; Juffer Denn C. Bornales and Lara Praz C. Mayol (FREEMAN)