Bogo City Annual Fiesta 2015

Bogo City Annual Fiesta 2015

The City of Bogo will once again celebrate its Fiesta comes May 27, 2015 in honor of our miraculous patron San Vicente Ferrer.

This year’s fiesta celebration is “Celebrating Resilience: Bogohanons Moving Forward” as we are all moving forward no matter what after the devastation brought by super typhoon Yolanda.

The lined-up activities are as follows:

March to May 15, 2015		VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
April 5, 2015      Sunday		Launching of Fiesta Activities: “SEARCH FOR GINOONG BOGO 2015”	Bogo Skating Rink
April 11 & 12, 2015      Saturday & Sunday		SUGBOGO PINTOS FESTIVAL WORKSHOP	Bogo Sports Complex
May 17, 2015      Sunday	8:00am	GARBOSA – Alagad Paanyag and Bingo Sosyal	Bogo Public Plaza
May 18, 2015      Monday	8:00pm	OPENING SALVO :      Government Employees Night (National, Provincial  and City Employees)	Bogo Skating Rink`
May 19, 2015      Tuesday	8:00pm	Youth Night / Disco	Bogo Skating Rink
May 20, 2015      Wednesday	8:00pm	Inter-Clan Dance Contest (ABC Night)	Bogo Sports Complex
May 21, 2015      Thursday	8:00pm	Religious / Cultural (Parish Night)	Bogo Skating Rink
May 22, 2015      Friday	4:00pm	DepEd Night	Bogo Skating Rink
May 23, 2015      Saturday	8:00am	BANKARERA and DRAGON BOAT RACE	Bogo Skating Rink
	6:00PM	Mayor’s Night:  MUSIC FESTIVAL	Bogo Skating Rink
May 24 2015      Sunday	5:0am	DUATHLON:  Bogo Mountain Bikers (BMB)	New Bogo City Hall
	1:00pm	AGRI TRADE FAIR Opening (The Trade Fair will continue up to May 27, 2015)	Bogo Public Plaza
	600pm	GAISANO VARIETY SHOW	Bogo Sports Complex
	7:00pm	SUGBO GLOW FUN RUN and PAINT FESTIVAL INVASION	Bogo Skating Rink
May 25, 2015      Monday	8:00am	AGRI TRADE FAIR (Daily from 8am to 5pm until May 7, 2015)	Bogo Public Plaza
	8:00pm	BRS NIGHT : Bogo Got Talent	Bogo Skating Rink
May 26, 2015     Tuesday	4:00pm	PINTOS FESTIVAL STREET DANCING CAROUSEL
	8:00pm	SUGBOGO FESTIVAL SHOWDOWN BALIK BOGO NIGHT	Bogo
May 27, 2015      Wednesday	10:00am	Photo Exhibit	Bogo Skating Rink
	8:00pm	SBBA NIGHT:  Search for Little Prince and Princess for 2015	Bogo Skating Rink
May 28, 2015      Thursday	8:00pm	LGBT Night:  Search for GARBOSA Mother and Child	Bogo Skating Rink

Some of these activities will be held for the first time in Bogo during fiestas, like the participation of LGBT community or the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders. They will be having their night on May 28, 2015 featuring the Search for Garbosa Mother and Child. The said activity will be lead by GARBOSA or the GAys ARound BOgo Solid Association which will also lead another activity earlier on May 17 called Alagad Paanyag and Bingo Sosyal.

The showdown of talents among the Government Employees in Bogo  both local (City and Province) and National will also be held for the first time. This will feature a Musical Presentations in groups, but I think this will exclude the teachers and educators since they will have their usual Teachers Night, DepEd night or Educators Night on May 2, 2015.  The students of CBSAA or the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy will also show their talents on the educators night. CBSAA is a school founded by Honorable Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr. for those children who have great potentials in Science and Arts.

Another first is the Inter-Clan Dance Contest which will be featured by the ABC Night on May 20. This is a showdown among original native Bogohanon Clans. This activities encourages Bogohanons who are now living in other places especially outside the Philippines to come home during fiesta.

Though the Bankarera is held annually, the addition of the DRAGON BOAT RACE on May 23 will be the first. As I’ve heard, the teams who will compete in this Dragon Boat Race are same teams who competes in National and International Competitions, if true, this will bring more tourist to Bogo.

Our generations are now healthy conscious that’s why Fun Runs, marathons and the likes are being held almost everywhere from time to time, but I think it’s the first time that Bogo Fiesta will feature Duathlon Sugbo Glow Fun Run and Paint Festival Invasion.

If things will push through as planned this will be the first time also that Bogo will held a mini-Woodstock style Band Showdown, this will be more entertaining to the young and music-inclined people. In recent developments regarding this, 5 or 6 bands are currently showing interest to join the showdown.

Well, in general, this coming fiesta is more fun with lots of new entertaining activities added other than the usual display of celebrities. The said activities, its scheduled time and date and venue is still subject to change at the discretion of the Fiesta Committee, the event organizers or the parties involved in response to certain circumstances that may arise.

RELIGIOUS ATIVITIES

We have also lined-up some religious activities for the fiesta Celebration:

Novena Mass will start also on May 18, 2015 until May 26, 2015 at 5:00pm.

May 17, 2015 Sunday – Free baptism for older children 5years old and above.

May 21, 2015 Thursday – Mass wedding for those living together for 5 years or more. (Civilly married couple are considered living together without Holy Matrimony by the Holy Roman Catholic Church.)

May 23, 2015 Saturday – Confirmation for children 12 years old and above to be officiated by Rev. Msgr. Rey Penagunda.

May 27, 2015 Wednesday – Fiesta!

     5:00am – Holy Mass

     6:30am – Holy Mass

     8:00am – Concelebrated Mass with Most Reverend Bishop Emilio Bataclan, D.D., auxiliary bishop of Cebu – north.

     10:00am – Concelebrated Mass with His Eminence Archbishop Jose S. Palma, Archbishop of Cebu.

     2:00pm – Holy Mass and Baptism

     3:00pm – Blessing of Devotees of Saint Vincent Ferrer

     4:00pm – Concelebrated Mass with Archbishop John Forrosuelo Du, D.D., Archbishop of Palo, Leyte

For more info on the religious activities, please visit the office of the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer.

Super Typhoon Yolanda and Super Heroes

by Sheila F. Orcullo

Published on:
BOGO QUARTERLY KANAAS GIKAN SA AMIHANAN
APRIL 2014 VOL. 4 NO. 1 16 PAGES

The name Yolanda will never be forgotten. It will forever be etched in my mind and soul. Yes, the super typhoon bearing the name wreaked havoc in my life and those of my fellow Bogohanons but I cannot also deny that heroes surfaced because of it.

While I was trying to be a rock to my family in the face of the storm, there were a few who left their own households to tend to the pressing needs of the people. Yes, they did it because of call of duty but still it took an enormous courage to leave their family behind just so they could attend first to the swelling panic among those constituents – panic that they themselves felt and swallowed in fear.

Take the case of the CSWD (/DSWD) personnel. Yes, it was their primary duty to provide relief assistance in the aftermath of a disaster but it was never written in their job functions and responsibilities to be caught in it with hundreds of people in a sports complex. In the attempt to feed the hungry mob, they became victims themselves. As was recounted to me, the force of the howling wind vibrated along the walls of the sports complex leaving trembling weary bodies in its wake. No matter how one tried to cover her ears to mute the thundering sound, it still penetrates and frightens. The rising fear and cries among the children and old alike prodded Amabelle Mayor, the City Social Welfare and Development Officer, to bring herself up and gather her wits together for the sake of those quaking minors and evacuees. She and her staff then distributed the food which could not sustain the hunger pangs felt which was made worse by stress and fear. They make do with whatever was available at that time given the hazard of going out of the complex to purchase food.

The distressed call of wounded evacuees can barely be heard in the noise of the thrashing roofs which left a gaping hole on the complex’ top when blown away. What was thought of as a safe haven, became a dangerous dwelling. Flying debris and fragments of broken glass caused people to run from one side of the court to another in attempt to evade the shrapnel. To unfortunate ones, the medical personnel came to the rescue. Dr. Minerva Millor, the City Health Officer, and along with her First Aid Team though shivering in cold had to administer first aid to the wounded.

As this chaos ensued and vibrated throughout the complex, City Mayor Junie Martinez tried to prop up the courage of everyone and tried to lend his presence for comfort and security. After the running frenzy around the court, he ended up inside the Comfort Room of the sports complex. This he would proudly announce to the relief good donors in the following weeks when the super typhoon finally left the country. He saw the hilarity of such a momentary weakness – a human frailty in the face of a powerful wrath of nature. By his side, Christian Kay Yurango branded the megaphone to keep order among the evacuees. His constant presence in the sports complex, which then became the disaster operation command center, giving order to the dispatching of relief goods to affected barangays under the supervision of Amabelle Mayor came at a precise moment. No one else aside from the DSWD personnel can muster enough strength and commitment to keeping an eye on the command center in behalf of the City Mayor.

As days went on and an avalanche of donations from many generous and kindhearted people from all walks of life both locally and abroad, the employees of the Bogo City government hand in hand tried to make a difference in the affected lives of fellow Bogohanons. Many went out of their own homes despite needing shelter assistance themselves just so they could help out in the repacking of tons of rice and thousands of boxes of canned goods for even distribution to the barangays.

Each one sweated out and flexed their muscles from the repacking until they were tied up neat and ready for dispatch. The men were seen to be staggering in the heavy weights of sacks of goods upon their shoulders but no word of complaint came out of their mouths. Every burden day in and day out was treated as a means of an escape from their own misery and trying to overpower its bitter taste with the goodness that these efforts bring to the desolate lives of their own people. Each day of toil and sweat in the succeeding weeks at the command center showed their will for self-sacrifice for the greater good of Bogohanons.

“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed”, this according to Bob Riley. Particularly in trying times like this. Thank God for heroes, the big kind or the small kind, say the survivors. Somehow it feels like a bit like heroes live and walk amongst us each day, especially in trying times. My salute to them all!

SEE THE ACTUAL FOOTAGE OF THE TYPHOON HERE:

Post by City Government of Bogo.

City of Bogo - After Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan

Bogo City had been severely by typhoon, Yolanda/Haiyan.  About 90% of the total households in Bogo were damaged by the raging Yolanda, girl what have you done to us. Electricity was down, about 80% of the power infrastructure in Bogo was damaged.


In our 1st general meeting with the City Mayor (Junie Martinez), the Bogo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, and heads of key sectors in Bogo, CEBECO II's initial assessment result reveal that power will be restored late January of 2014 or early of February 2014.  But according to our sources, the main thoroughfares of Bogo, the Poblacion and public areas will be lighted first early December 2013 as a result of the help extended by CEBECO I and CEBECO III and other power cooperatives in the Visayas like Negros and Bohol.

Even the newly constructed City Hall and the Archdiocesan Shrine San Vicente Ferrer was not spared by the typhoon, but thanks to God and the intercession of Mother Mary and San Vicente Ferrer, most lives were saved, just a few fatalities and injuries.  City hall furnitures and laptops were flying out to the sugarcane plantation. There's one sofa from the City Hall that was thrown out of the window for about 300 meters away.

The new Bogo Sports Complex (Don Celestino Martinez Sports Center) was converted into an evacuation center a day before the typhoon.  And thanks to God a lot of people listen to the City Governments call to evacuate. But during the typhoon, even the evacuation center's roof was damaged and people are wailing and running to different directions. Children and elderly were crying, "is this the end of the world?" Everyone was terrified that a stampede will happen. Thanks again to God to our patron saint, only a few injuries.


The City Mayor was so sad that for how many years Bogo was trying to rise up above the rest of the Northern Cebu towns and have started to become the center of trade and industry and now back to rebuilding key infrastructures again.  On the other hand, he was happy that only a few lives were lost. 

Mayor Junie is still optimistic that prospected investors will still believe that more opportunities in Bogo. He still believe that Bogo will rise up again and fulfill its dream to be the center of trade and industry.

Padayon Bogo Padayon, ayaw paghunong, kay ang kalangitan nagdan-ag sa imong dalan.