Tourism, religion can co-exist
Isuspect that the controversy involving Sta. Fe, Bantayan island Mayor Jose Esgana and the town’s parish priest, Fr. Roy Bucag, is beyond the issue of religious observance.
Bantayan island is a tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches. Domestic and foreign tourists troop there every Holy Week to relax and enjoy. To promote tourism in the island, especially the beach resorts located in Sta. Fe and to generate revenue, the local government unit authorized an event organizer to stage various events during the Holy Week.
The activity that will be held from April 12 to April 15 and dubbed as “Isla Music Festival” includes film showing on Holy Thursday that features the Passion of Jesus Christ at the town’s covered court, acoustic songs on Black Saturday and non-stop danceable music with disc jockeys on Easter Sunday.
But Fr. Bucag claimed that the events conflict with church activities and are against church teachings and tradition considering that the Holy Week should be observed solemnly. He initiated a dawn procession-cum-protest reportedly exploiting the children, which caused the ire of the mayor who threatened to file a case against the priest for child abuse.
We can understand the concern of Fr. Bucag. But if we examine the events’ “format,” I think this will not disrupt or conflict with church activities, especially that the events will be held at night and church’s activities are usually being held during the day.
On Holy Thursday, Church activities include the Visita Iglesia held atnight. Would all the people in Sta. Fe observe that? Those who will not do so have the option of where to go. On Good Friday would be held the solemn procession, which will start late in the afternoon and finish early in the evening. No more church activities at night. The film showing about the life of Jesus Christ would therefore be an alternative.
On Black Saturday, no church activities because it is supposed to be Sabbath Day. So with the acoustic song presentation, people will have the option where to relax and enjoy. On Easter Sunday, people will rejoice because Jesus Christ has “resurrected.”
Gone are the days when we should strictly follow church tradition to the latter in observing the Holy Week. Places where people continue to practice their religion now also capture the attention of tourists. Kita gidid-an pagkaon og karne panahon sa Semana Santa. Nganong taga- Bantayan kaon man lagi sila ug karne? Unsa may naka-espisyal nila kay nato? Kay naay “dispensation” sa Santo Papa. Hunongon unta nang maong tradisyon sa simbahan.
But I suspect that there is a religious undertones to this issue. Because there are many Aglipayan church members in Sta. Fe and Mayor Esgana’s forefathers were Aglipayan followers. Dugay na nang kasungian diha tali sa mga Katoliko ug Aglipayans. Diha man gani toy panahon nga gipadakop ug gipriso sa mayor ang mga “santos” kay nag-prosesyon ang simbahan nga walay permit.