MANDAUE CITY TO HOST LIFEDANCE 2018

Of the three organizers who applied for a mayor’s permit to hold parties or other activities in Mandaue City on the feast of Señor Sto. Niño, only one has gotten the go-ahead so far. Mayor Luigi Quisumbing said he approved the permit for the LifeDance festival. He said that some organizers have been selling tickets and advertising their parties in Mandaue even though they don’t have a permit yet. The city expects to be the chosen venue for activities after the Cebu City Government imposed a liquor ban within 300 meters of the Sinulog grand parade route on Jan. 21. Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that Sinulog parties are conducive to illegal drug transactions.

Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing will not approve events, especially parties, that are scheduled for Sunday, the day of the feast of Señor Santo Niño.

Quisumbing said that the City approved only one application for a mayor’s permit so far, which is for the LifeDance festival on Jan. 19.

Mandaue is expecting more activities to be held in the city after the Cebu City Government refused to grant several applications for Sinulog events.

Aside from LifeDance, two other groups have asked for a permit to hold similar events in Mandaue.

In an interview, the mayor said that LifeDance’s organizers applied for a mayor’s permit two weeks ago while the two others sent their application last Friday afternoon.

He said the LifeDance organizers were able to submit their plans for peace and order, sanitation, parking and traffic.

The City Government assured that no problems will be encountered in getting a permit as long as all the requirements are complied with.

As to the two other groups, the mayor said they are still processing their applications.

“At this point it is less than a week to their events. The other two groups submitted only late afternoon last Friday, leaving the City a few days, if you take away the weekend, to take a look at whether their plan is appropriate if there would be changes,” he said.

One of the two permit applicants said they will hold their event on Sunday, the day of the Sinulog.

“You know, Sunday is the Sinulog and we are not inclined to grant any permit for Sunday itself,” said Quisumbing.

Aside from that, the mayor told reporters that some of the organizers have been selling tickets and have advertised that their parties will be held in Mandaue although they have not yet secured a permit from the City Government.

“The rest in process pa ilang permit pero mao lage na, like I said, I take it rather badly that they started to advertise and even sell tickets prior to securing a permit and they will be made to explain why they assume that they would get the permit even they have not submitted a peace and order plan or a sanitation plan,” said Quisumbing.

Glenn Antigua, chief for operations of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue, said no roads will be closed during the LifeDance from 4 p.m. on Jan. 19 to 4 a.m. of Jan. 20.

LifeDance will occupy two hectares of the four-hectare lot of the defunct Saint James Amusement Park, which is across Parkmall.

In Cebu City, Mayor Tomas Osmeña reminded those who are attending Sinulog parties not to accept any drink that is offered to them as it might be laced with dangerous drugs.

“I would like to remind those attending parties and concerts, if you’re offered drinks, do not drink it because it might be spiked with drugs because there have been some reports on that,” he said in his news conference yesterday.

Osmeña said that during a party held at the South Road Properties last year, one person died.

“The guy died, they claimed it was an aneurysm but nobody even called the ambulance, they were all drunk,” he said.

Osmeña said he is happy that other parties transferred to nearby cities like Mandaue because he wanted to have a peaceful celebration of Sinulog.

The matter, Osmeña said, is one of the reasons he did not approve most of the request to hold Sinulog parties in the city because these events are conducive to drugs.