Pintados-Kasadyaan prexy fears disruption of their mardi gras

TACLOBAN CITY-The tussle that transpired during last year’s street parade of Pintados-Kasadyaan Festivals in this city is being feared to happen again this year.

In what he considers a desperate move, Eugene Tan, president of Pintados Foundation, claimed that the city government is now allegedly scheming a plan to disturb the mardi gras of the twin-billed festival at the Leyte Sports Development Center (Grandstand) this June 27.

“Based on unconfirmed notices that what we have been receiving lately, they are planning again to orchestrate an interruption so that our celebration will turn out unsuccessful just like what happened in the past,” he said in a radio interview aired over DyDW yesterday, referring to the commotion that transpired last June 27, 2011.

Last year, the city government barricaded the contingents of Pintados-Kasadyaan using dump trucks to disrupt their parade claiming they are a using a route not approved by the court.

Tan alleged that the city government is planning to block the contingents of Kasadyaan Festival from coming to this city this June 27 by deploying a group of city enforcers that will possibly create another tensions.

“We bowed down and made some ways to avoid the clash that happened last year and yet they are making another trouble. They have to remember that their stay in office is only temporary. We demand respect as Catholics the way how we give them respect,” he stressed.

“We even withdrew our plan to have a grand parade in the main thoroughfares in the city and decided to hold our activities inside the Leyte Grandstand and still they are disturbing us,” Tan added.

As an alternative, he said they told the 11 participating contingents of Kasadyaan Festival coming from various municipalities in Leyte province to use private vehicles instead of public utility buses so as not to give the enforcers any reason that they will be stopped from entering the city.

“But I do not know what violations will be pointed to us this time,” he said.

But Bernardita Valenzuela, head of city information office and executive assistant of Mayor Alfred Romualdez, categorically denied the claims of Tan and said that the allegation was baseless.

She said they will only deploy police personnel and traffic enforcers during the activity of Pintados-Kasadyaan in anticipation of heavy traffic and high volume of public that will troop to the city.

“There are only some people who want the city and the Pintados group in a clash. The report he (Tan) received is not true. The policemen and traffic enforcers are mandated to ensure peace and order in the city and to make sure that no traffic jam will happen,” she said.

“The Pintados group should coordinate early and they have to submit themselves to the authority of the city,” Valenzuela added. (ALVIN P. CARDINES)

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Posted by lsde on Jun 19 2012. Filed under News1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.