The allegations by one participant in the Miss Universe event this week was aghast. The artists were not even served lunch or even just “service water.”
The kids who had to walk the streets barefoot as should be the case in authentic gong beating, just sacrificed. They suffered. No “service water” also. Not even the cheapest crackers for lunch.
These are cheap things we are talking about. Even a good lunch at the Baguio Country Club would have been cheap if only to reciprocate what the gong beaters and the artists did. So how come these were not offered?
The leaders or the organizers of the event could not have intentionally committed the big booboo. We are quite sure there was enough money for all aspects of the event. But, our educated guess is, somewhere along the line somebody f—ed up.
Who this might be or what might have been the fault in the organization for the event that caused this has to be found out and solved or dealt with. For it is the same group—composed of those from the “hotel and restaurant sector”—who were, are and will be active in Baguio City’s successful crowd drawing yearly fest, the Panagbenga.
Which makes the matter urgent and imperative. As of now, we are hearing the City Council calling for the proper audit of the financial aspect of past Panangbenga iterations. Well, why not also cause the audit of the recent Miss Universe event?
Otherwise, why entrust such events to the private sector? Admittedly, private groups are supposed to be more efficient in handling such activities, but if it means more booboos than when these are done by government officials, then to hell with private business groups.**