EDITORIAL - Ending initiatives

Governor-elect Pam Baricuatro is planning to do away with the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo and the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo events.

Regarding the Pasigarbo, she said this presented financial challenges faced by the towns and component cities of the province, especially the poorer ones.      

“Why do you let third-class municipalities compete with component cities? How can they compete in terms of budget and logistically it's improbable g’yud," she said.

Regarding the Suroy-Suroy, she said she would rather focus on mobile clinics and healthcare.

We see sense in what she is saying. On the part of lower-income municipalities, it must be a challenge having to come up with money just to be able to send a contingent to the Pasigarbo every year, money we are sure they would rather spend on something else.

And when all contingents start to look alike and dance alike, or have the same theme year after year, it isn’t really much of a competition anymore.

As for the Suroy-Suroy, removing it also allows each municipality or component city more wiggle room on how to promote their own brand of tourism, as opposed to being cubbyholed into promoting a specific product or item only.

Yes, it must be mentioned that the Suroy-Suroy was revolutionary when it was first launched; other provinces even said they want to have their own program based on this model. But over time it began to be hijacked by politicians. There was even one complaint by a foreign guest that during a stop in one town they had to sit through a speech by a politician who then ranted about topics they didn’t have anything to do with.

The tourist said he was there to experience the towns, but experienced the turbulent local politics instead. This isn’t to be confused with another politician who practically campaigned for himself during another Suroy-Suroy edition.

Ending those initiatives can free up much-needed time, money, and resources for those municipalities that need it more than others.