Commercialization of Vigan festival scored

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the festive activities surrounding the occasion last weekend, priests in Vigan in Ilocos Sur lamented the "Viva Vigan" festival has commercialized a supposedly religious occasion. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Monday Vigan parish priest Msgr. Roque Reyes reminded residents the festival is a jubilee celebration. "These two big fiestas in May ... have lost much of their true meaning in the excitement of what is now a full-blown cultural and commercial tourist attraction," the CBCP said in a statement on its website. It was referring to the Labor Day activity last May 1 and the feast of Apo Sto. Cristo Milagroso in his shrine, the Simbaan a Bassit or "small church," last Saturday. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Cathedral was closed and all Masses are celebrated at the "small church." Reyes said "Viva Vigan 2008" is a Jubilee Celebration, this year being the 125th Year of Thanksgiving of the natives of Vigan to their special patron and Savior, Apo Sto. Cristo Milagros. Now in its 16th year, "Viva Vigan" Festival of the Arts and Crafts continues to draw huge crowds of local and foreign tourists to the World Heritage City. The weeklong festival features local culture and arts of which the Binatbatan and Longanisa Festivals and the Amazing Heritage Race. - GMANews.TV