Last July, we criticized the Naga City government's plan of staging its own festival that was parasitic of the Peñafrancia Fiesta given that a joint agreement had been reached earlier. Even then, we feared that the City government's "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" exploited the devotees' cry of "Viva la Virgen" and sought to literally cash in on the Peñafrancia Fiesta to which it clearly alluded.
In fact, we pointedly asked if "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" was the Robredo administration's persistent attempt to have a non-religious festival for the sake of tourism, sales, and profit, by appealing to the celebration of a religious occasion which is INA's fiesta. We expressed fear that this parasitic festival undermined the agreement of "keeping the Peñafrancia Novena days free from undue distractions" by staging activities like pageants and drinking fests. We expressed fear that the City government led by Mayor Robredo would be duplicitous and renege on the agreement at the last minute.
Our fears were confirmed recently.
Although purportedly a September-long festival, "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia's" activities were made public only on the week of the traslacion, obviously timed to catch those visiting INA at the start of her novenary masses. And timed slyly to avoid public scrutiny that could have objected to the said activities.
Which activities are these? Those which the joint agreement banned during the novena week: pageants, beer plazas or drinking fests which result to public intoxication. "Viva Naga's" calendar of activities clearly reveal that on September 12, a pageant for male teens had been scheduled and approved. Similarly, various types of "beauty pageants" have been scheduled across the week of the novenary masses. In addition, an amateur boxing tournament is to be held at the Peñafrancia Landing Arch on the 18th, which is certainly contrary to the agreement of banning "undue distractions during the novena week."
What is disturbing is the fact that this agreement was the result of dialogues initiated by Robredo himself through his appointment of a Tricentenary Executive Committee. Does this mean the mayor has chosen to not honor the agreement which resulted from the dialogues? Clearly, and given the lack of transparency involved in the approval of these activities, with duplicity.
The pamphlet containing the calendar of activities of "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" is most revealing. It presumptuously treats of the Peñafrancia Fiesta's religious activities as simply part of the City's parasitic festival. With its calendar of activities, "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" subsumes the celebration of the Peñafrancia Fiesta within itself. It makes the celebration of the devotion to INA simply a part of the City government's own festival-which in Mayor Robredo's own words-"to highlight the city and the region's rich culture and heritage."
It is obvious then that for the Naga City government, the "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" festival is larger than the celebration of the nearly 300-year old devotion to INA since the former encompasses the latter.
Such conceit. Such duplicity.