Organizers shorten Cebu’s Grand Sinulog Parade route for security

As tourists flocked to Cebu City to witness the Grand Sinulog Parade on Sunday, organizers of the event said they had to shorten the route for security purposes.

"I think we have to [shorten the route] kasi the safety of our participants and at the same time spectators so we have to shorten the parade," Ricky Ballesteros, executive Director of the Sinulog Foundation, said in a report on GMA News' "Balitanghali."

According to the report, results of the various competitions—best float, best puppeteer, best higantes, and the street dancing—are scheduled to be announced at 6:30 p.m.

While some 800,000 tourists and devotees attended the procession of the Sto. Niño on Saturday, organizers said more people were expected on the grand parade.

For its part, the local police said they are fully prepared for the event.

"Nagkaroon tayo ng simulation exercises kung may mga untoward incidence nga for example bombing, o fire, even natural cinonsider natin 'yun. Kung magkaroon man ng ganon, eh nakahanda 'yung lahat ng agencies," Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño said in the report.

Mobile phone signals in the area have also been shut down, while the airspace has been declared a "no fly zone" as a precautionary measure. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News