1 Sinulog | Queen of Mardigras - Cebu’s Grandest Festival

Sinulog is Cebu’s or even probably the Philippines’ grandest festival. It’s a bold statement to claim but if you ask anybody who has been to Sinulog they will definitely agree. With that said, Sinulog isn’t just a one day event, it is celebrate over a month with full of activities including novenas, processions, contests, parades and photo contests just to name a few.

Below is a complete list of the official Sinulog 2017 schedule of activities including their dates:

Dec. 1, 2016 January 31, 2017 — Sinulog Street Fair, Osmeña Boulevard

Dec. 30, 2016 — Sinulog Fun Run

5:00 A.M. Elimination Sinulog 2017 Dance Crew

January 5, 2017 (Thursday) — Opening Salvo: Walk with Jesus

4:00 A.M. Assembly Time (Area) Fuente Osmeña
4:30 A.M. Start of Walk-Fuente Osmeña Blvd. – Basilica del Sto. Niño
5:30 A.M. Installation of Hermano & Hermana Mayores 2017

January 6, 2017 (Friday) — Sinulog 2017 Kick Off

10:00 A.M. Sinulog Trade Fair @ SM City Cebu
2:00 P.M. Solemn Mass (Basilica Del Santo Niño)
3:00 P.M. Launching Parade (Basilica Del Santo Niño to CCSC)
5:30 P.M. Novena mass
7:00 P.M. Opening and Launching Program, Fuente Osmeña

January 7, 2017 (Saturday) — Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan

1:00 P.M. Parade of Participants (Capitol to CCSC)
2:00 P.M. Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan at CCSC
5:30 P.M. Novena mass
7:00 P.M. Ms. Cebu 2017 Pre Pageant Night @ Ayala Activity Center
10:00 P.M. Concert @ the Fuente Osmeña, Party Bands

January 8, 2017 (Sunday) — Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan

3:00 A.M. Cebu City 2017 Marathon – www.cebumarathon.net
1:00 P.M. Parade of Participants, Plaza Independencia to CCSC
2:00 P.M. Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan at CCSC
5:30 P.M. Novena mass
10:00 P.M. Concert @ the Fuente Osmeña, Party Bands

January 9, 2017 (Monday)

10:00 P.M. Concert @ the Fuente Osmeña, Party Bands
5:30 P.M. Novena mass

January 10, 2017 (Tuesday)

10:00 P.M. Concert @ the Fuente Osmeña, Party Bands
5:30 P.M. Novena mass

January 11, 2017 (Wednesday)

9:00 A.M. Airport Welcome (Balikbayan Flights)
5:30 P.M. Novena mass
7:00 P.M. Ms. Cebu 2017 Coronation Night @ Waterfront
8:00 P.M. Sinulog Idol @ Fuente Osmeña Circle9:00 P.M. Concert @ Fuente Osmeña, Party Bands

January 12, 2017 (Thursday)

9:00 A.M. Airport Welcome (Balikbayan Flights)
5:30 P.M. Novena mass
6:00 P.M. Balik Cebu, Welcome Party @ Ayala Center Cebu6:30 P.M. Sinulog Festival Queen Runway Competition and Photo shoot

January 13, 2017 (Friday) — Visual Merchandising Contest

4:00 A.M. Walk with Mary (Area) Fuente Osmeña – Sto. Niño
9:00 A.M. Solidarity Meeting (All Competing Contingent/Floats/ Higante/ Puppeteers) @ Cebu City Sports Center Gym
6:00 P.M. Sinulog 2017 Dance Crew Finals @ Cebu City Sports Center
7:30 P.M. Sinulog Festival Queen 2017 Coronation Night @ Cebu City Sports Center

January 14, 2017 (Saturday)

6:00 A.M. Fluvial Procession of the Miraculous Image of the Sto. Niño
9:00 A.M. Re-enactment of the Baptism of Queen Juana and Rajah Humabon
12:00 P.M. 12th “The Street Vibration & Big Bike Rally 2017” by V-max Owner’s Group, Inc Cebu Chapter
2:00 P.M. Solemn Procession of the Miraculous Image of Sto. Niño
7:00 P.M. Sinulog Fireworks Competition @ SM City Cebu

January 15, 2017 (Sunday) — Sinulog Grand Parade

4:00 A.M. Mañanita Mass @ Basilica del Sto. Niño
6:00 A.M. Pontifical Mass
8:00 A.M. Holy Mass @ Cebu City Sports Center
9:00 A.M. Sinulog Grand Parade Carousel Kick Off
7:00 P.M. Grand Finale and Grand Fireworks at CCSC
9:00 P.M. Pyrospectacular Show (Pyromusical Show at SM City Cebu)
9:00 P.M. – 2:00 A.M. Sinulog DJ Mixing Grand Finals Night at Fuente Osmeña Circle
12:00 MN Sinulog Fireworks at SRP

January 16, 2017 (Monday) — Awarding Ceremonies

January 20, 2017 (Friday) — “HUBO”

January. 31, 2017 — Judging Sinulog 2017 Photo Contest

Febuary 1, 2017 — Judging of Finalists in Short Film/Video Documentary and Music Video Contest

February 4, 2017

1:00 P.M. Screening of Finalists Sinulog Short Film Festival @ SM City Cebu
6:00 P.M. Awarding Ceremonies Photo Contest, Short Film and Video Documentary Contest @ SM City Cebu

February 4, 2017 – February 13, 2017 Photo Exhibit Winning Photos Sinulog 2017 @ SM City Cebu

This official Sinulog 2017 schedule of activities was provided by the Sinulog Foundation.

Now that you know the schedule of activities for Sinulog 2017 you can now plan your personal activities ahead of time. Staying updated is the best way to savor every moment of this once a year festival.

For first-timers, expect Cebu City to be “really” crowded especially during the Sinulog Grand Parade. You will see the whole city flooded with people, dancing and marrying everywhere. Expect to have parties everywhere, there will be non-stop music, drinking and just pure fun.

There will be rarely any public transportation available going to the center of the city, or probably even none. Most of the public vehicles are re-routed and people just walk all over the city. There is also a possibility that some mobile networks will have a difficulty in finding a signal. Imagine 6-8 million people crowded all over the heart of the city and most of them use their mobile phones at the same time. The network usually gets busy.

So there you have it! Plan your Sinulog activities ahead. .

Contact Information:

Sinulog Foundation Inc. Office Cebu City Sports Center Osmeña Blvd. Cebu City, Philippines
Call us at: +63-32-253-3700
Telefax : +63-32-254-5010
E-mail : info@sinulog.ph

0 PHLPost reprints more Calungsod stamps due to ‘high demand’

MANILA - The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has just announced that it will reprint 500,000 more copies of commemorative stamps in honor of St. Pedro Calungsod.

PHLPost Postage and Philatelic Department manager Elenita San Diego said the new copies have been made available to the public since Tuesday due to high public demand.

The new batch of stamps, however, was only presented and launched Wednesday at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, ahead of the Thanksgiving Mass for Calungsod’s canonization on Nov. 30.

She said that they decided to release the copies earlier because there was a continued clamor for them to issue more stamps on the second Filipino saint.

“Due to insistent public demand, we would be reprinting 500,000 more Calungsod stamps. We would be using the same design,” San Diego said.

Last Oct.21, coinciding Calungsod’s canonization in Rome, the PHLPost first launched the Calungsod stamps at the historic EDSA Shrine in Quezon City.

The agency initially printed 50,000 copies and were sold out in just a matter of nine days, spurring them to produce more stamps, which are sold at P9 per piece.

“Right there, we had a lot of buyers and not all of them are philatelists. They bought sheets of the stamp,” San Diego said.

“One person even bought 200 sheets of Calungsod stamps which she said she would give to friends as gifts,” she also said.

(RL/CBCPNews)

0 Devotees throng to venerate Saint Pedro Calungsod image

MANILA - Braving the heat, thousands of Filipinos stood in line Wednesday to see and kiss the image of the second Filipino saint at the country’s biggest Catholic church.

Saint Pedro Calungsod’s image arrived in the Philippines from Rome last Oct. 25 and immediately made  rounds to different areas in Metro Manila and Northern Luzon as part of a thanksgiving pilgrimage around the country.

The statue made its second to the last stop at the Manila Cathedral before proceeding to Southern Luzon dioceses down to Visayas and Mindanao starting Thursday.

After the Mass led by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, swarms of worshippers pressed forward to touch, kiss or wipe their handkerchiefs on the image in the hopes its powers will touch their lives.

In his homily, Tagle said that to better appreciate the blessing of having a second Filipino saint, the people should study the life of the 17-year-old Visayan martyr.

Cardinal-designate Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle offers incense to the official image of Saint Pedro Calungsod during a Mass attended by around 2,000 faithful to welcome the statue of the second Filipino saint at Plaza Roma, located in front of the Manila Cathedral, Nov. 7, 2012. (RL/CBCPNews)

“After this very big blessing, let us ponder on what it means to be martyr. Read about the life of Saint Pedro Calungsod and listen to the many catecheses about him,” he said.

“These are available in online publications, instead of uploading or downloading about other topics, do a search on Saint Pedro Calungsod,” said Tagle.

Among those present in the noontime Mass were Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim; presidential sister Victoria Elisa “Viel” Aquino-Dee; Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes and three commissioners Lucenito Tagle, Rene Sarmiento and Christian Robert Lim; former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., and former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez, Novaliches Emeritus Bishop Teodoro Bacani and several other priests concelebrated the Mass with Cardinal-designate Archbishop Tagle.

From the Manila Cathedral, the image was brought to the San Roque Cathedral in the Diocese of Caloocan. It is expected to be at the Diocese of Imus by tomorrow.

The image is also set to visit Lipa, Lucena, Daet, and Legazpi, in Southern Luzon and Catarman, Calbayog, Palo and Maasin, in Visayas.

It will then proceed to Surigao, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Pagadian, Ozamiz, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Kabankalan, Bacolod, Jaro, San Carlos, Tagbilaran, and Talibon, all in Mindanao.

On Nov. 27, the image will be brought back to Cebu City from Bohol, the last stop of the “Duaw Nasud” or Nation Visit, in preparation for the national thanksgiving celebration on Nov. 30.

(RL/CBCPNews)

0 Simultaneous events to be held on Calungsod’s canonization

MANILA, Oct. 15, 2012—Parishes, youth organizations and religious groups will hold activities during the canonization day of Blessed Pedro Calungsod on October 21.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), the Archdiocese of Manila is gathering its faithful, particularly the young at the Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish for a program on the canonization of Pedro Calungsod which will be held from 2:30-7:00 p.m. followed by a youth mass at 8:00 o’clock in the evening.

Another group will also organize an event titled “San Pedro 10.21” at the San Juan Arena in San Juan City from 1:30-6:00 p.m. bringing the canonization rite in Rome to the Philippines via satellite feed in real time.

The activity will include a Holy Mass celebration followed by songs and praises, dance and other presentations. It will be hosted by News Anchor Mike Enriquez and Former athlete and TV host Christine Jacobs.

Meanwhile in Cebu, the Commission on Youth of the Archdiocese of Cebu and the National Shrine of St. Jospeh in Mandaue City, together with the City Governmentare inviting every Sugbuanon to watch “Barkada ni Pedro Live”, a live telecast of the canonization from 12 in the afternoon to 6:30 in the evening.

The event, which includes drama on the life of the 2nd Filipino saint, talk, trivia games with prizes and praise and worship, will be held at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex . 

(Jandel Posion)

0 Binay to represent Noy in Calungsod canonization

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay will represent President Aquino at the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod on Oct. 21 at the Vatican.

Aquino has designated Binay, also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) concerns, to witness Pope Benedict XVI install the country’s second saint.

“It is an honor to lead my fellow Filipino Catholics in witnessing this historic event. Blessed Pedro Calungsod’s life was one of service and I pray that his dedication and sacrifice will inspire the Filipino youth to live their lives in service of their fellowmen,” Binay said.

The first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, was canonized on Oct. 18, 1987.

“I join the people of Cebu and the entire nation in this most joyous occasion and pray that the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod will further strengthen our faith in the Almighty and our unity as a people,” Binay said.

Calungsod was a teenage Cebuano catechist who accompanied Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores in Tumhon village in Guan, Marianas, where they were killed on April 2, 1672.

Pope John Paul II beatified Calungsod in March 2000.

The canonization rites for Blessed Calungsod and six others will begin with a Mass at Saint Peter’s Square.

Vespers and a procession of the new saints’ icons will be held at the Chiesa di Santa Pudenziana later in the evening.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expects over a thousand Filipinos to fly to the Vatican to witness the canonization rites.

After the canonization, Binay will meet members of the Filipino community in Italy at the Pontifico Collegio Filipino.

“In all my trips abroad, I always make it a point to meet with our countrymen to personally hear from them their concerns and to assure them that our government is always looking after their welfare,” Binay said.

By Jose Rodel Clapano (The Philippine Star)

0 Woman credits Blessed Pedro for saving her sight

TWO doctors told Felicitas Castro almost a decade ago that she would go blind.

The 44-year-old real estate agent underwent two laser surgeries to heal her left eye, which had a blood clot.

But Castro was not healed. No one could figure out what was wrong.

“Unsa’y ihatag sa Ginoo dawaton (Whatever God planned for me, I accepted),” she told
herself at that time.

Eventually, she heard about the Blessed Pedro Calungsod Shrine at the Archbishop’s Residence compound on D. Jakosalem St., Cebu City.

Aside from attending healing masses and praying in other churches, she went to the shrine and petitioned to the Visayan martyr to intercede for her prayers.

Years later, the blood clot in Castro’s eyes disappeared.

She believes that Calungsod, who will be canonized on Oct. 21 at the Vatican City in Rome, Italy, had interceded for her.

“Gihatagan ko’g milagro (I was given a miracle),” said Castro, a resident of Talisay City.

She plans to attend the national thanksgiving mass for Blessed Pedro’s canonization,
which will be held at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City next month.

But to determine whether or not Castro’s healing was a miracle is a long process, said Fr. Charles Jayme of the Sto. Rosario Parish Church.

In a separate interview yesterday, Jayme said a devotee’s claim will have to be verified, if indeed the intercession was made by a certain saint.

The claim must also be studied by experts to determine if it is beyond human and scientific explanations.

After a thorough study, a report will be sent to the Vatican for further scrutiny.

“For us, when we say it is a miracle… nobody can question (you) because it is your faith dictating you. The Church still respects that,” Father Jayme said.

Castro said she worried about becoming blind because she has five children to provide for. In her Social Security System papers, she even described herself as partially disabled.

Since her “miraculous” healing, Castro said she has visited the doctor only once a year.

For her, faith is strong medicine. She said a devotee should not relent in asking for help from a saint.

“They should not lose hope,” she said.

By Kevin A. Lagunda
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 09, 2012.

0 Calungsod novena starts on Oct. 12

In preparation for the canonization of the first Visayan saint, a novena mass is scheduled to run at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Blessed Pedro Calungsod starting on Oct. 12.

It will end on Oct. 20, a day before the martyr is formally proclaimed a saint in Vatican City.

Devotees of soon-to-be proclaimed Saint Pedro Calungsod can participate in the Holy Rosary and confessions preceding the novena mass.

The live telecast of the canonization can be viewed at the Spiritual Pastoral Formation Year (SPFY) House inside the Archbishop Residence.

Church officials earlier announced that aside from the American Catholic channel, EWTN, the only channel allowed by the Vatican to broadcast live via satellite is the Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN). CCTN is available on free TV.

On the Oct. 21, the film portraying the life of Pedro Calungsod be simultaneously have premiere showing in the Cebu Archbishops residence and Rome.

The film is produced by the CCTN.

The activities prepared by the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Archdiocesan Shrine is aimed to give chance for those unable to personally witness the religious ceremony in Rome.

Over a thousand Cebuanos are flying to Rome to attend the canonization.

Calungsod, a teenager from the Visayas, was among the first to serve on a mission organized by Fr. Diego de San Vitores to the Ladrones Islands in the Western Pacific, Marianas, on June 16, 1668.

On April 2, 1672, he and Fr. Diego were speared with a cutlass by two villagers in Tumhon, Guam, for catechizing and baptizing the natives.

By Jessa J. Agua
Cebu Daily News