Mandaue ditches Christmas parties, to help typhoon victims instead

Local

MANDAUE City will forgo its traditional Christmas and year-end parties this year, redirecting the funds to support communities affected by recent typhoons in northern Luzon.

This decision was in response to the national government’s call for austerity and Malacañang’s directive to limit extravagant holiday celebrations among local government units.

In an interview with a local TV news program, Mayor Glenn Bercede explained that canceling public celebrations showed solidarity with communities devastated by the recent typhoons. He emphasized that the decision reflected the city’s commitment to helping those in need, as other regions continue to recover.

Bercede assured that Mandaue’s holiday spirit would continue, though on a smaller scale.

The decision to cancel the celebrations came even before the controversy surrounding the P3.8 million Christmas decoration procurement. However, the backlash over the decoration budget added more context to the city’s move.

Netizens criticized the city's holiday budget, questioning the appropriateness of the spending given the ongoing recovery efforts in typhoon-affected areas.

Bercede clarified that the decoration budget was lower than in previous years and was mainly used to replace outdated items like LED lights and bulbs, and to refurbish the Christmas tree and other displays at City Hall.

Regarding the controversy, Bercede defended the spending, stating that the decorations were a long-standing tradition in the city.

He explained that the budget covered not only the Christmas tree but also the ornaments and LED lights used on City Hall’s walls. Many of the city’s older decorations had deteriorated and needed replacement.

In line with the national government’s call for financial restraint, Bercede confirmed the cancellation of city-wide Christmas and year-end celebrations. However, he assured that individual departments could still hold their own parties, as long as they pooled their resources.

The funds originally set aside for public celebrations will be redirected to aid recovery efforts in typhoon-affected areas, with discussions ongoing to finalize the amount of financial assistance.(MyTVCebu)