This weekend marks the beginning of Cebu's biggest festival, Sinologue.
The main venue is the SRP Grand along South Coastal Road in Cebu City, but Cebu Governor Garcia is still insisting that the festival should be held at the Cebu Gymnasium. Well, I guess he can't change it now, but Mr. Garcia is just as disturbing as the governor of any other capital city in any other country.
For several years now, mobile network communications have been restricted during the Sinologue.
On January 14, from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. throughout Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City. Downtown and Uptown Cebu City from noon to 8 p.m. On January 15, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., mobile network outages will be implemented around the SRP site and downtown area.
Such radio frequency shutdowns have been in place since 2017 in the wake of the Mindanao bombings.
Cebu City Mayor Rama seems to be questioning this.
The NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) has already sent a written request to telecommunications companies to stop the signal at the request of the Police Regional Office, but apparently the final decision will be made by the mayor of Rama.
Mayor Lama opposes the regulation of telecommunications, citing inconveniences such as not being able to locate fellow citizens if the signal is shut down during the Sinolog Festival.
Although we don't want bombings to occur, I don't see the point in regulating mobile communications. I think the current situation fits the proverb "kan ni kakori kawasu" ("a fish is made from broth and broth is made from broth").
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Ultimately, it is Mayor Rama's decision, but even if he does not impose communication restrictions, the Facebook-loving Filipinos will be sending selfies en masse around the venue. I don't think I am the only one who feels that this would make it difficult for the signal to reach the venue, which would be the same as having communication restrictions in place.
*I wrote about Governor Garcia's change of venue, and it turns out that there is a reason for her insistence.
The photo below shows SRP, the main venue of the event, but it has been raining for a long time, which is unusual for this time of the year, and SRP looks too muddy to be used as the main venue. Moreover, in case of rain, it would be reasonable to change the venue to the Cebu City Gymnasium since there is no roof over the bleachers.
