No signal jam is assured during the Sinulog grand parade and ritual showdown on January 21, 2024, according to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. 

Rama said that there will be no shutdown of telecommunications signal and services on that day as temporary jam prevents people from communicating with their families, friends, clients, among others, and stops the public from sharing the event on various platforms. 

“Jamming and shutting [signal] off is Jurassic,” Rama said in a press conference.

Street parties are also prohibited to prevent untoward incidents such as fracases and scuffles.
The Cebu City Police Office, through its spokesperson, Lt. Col. Janette Rafter,  also the deputy director for operations, said that security plans are already in place for the Penitential Walk with Jesus, which is on the first day of the novena to the Santo Niño on January 11, 2024. The walk will start by 4 a.m. at Fuente Osmena uptown of Cebu City, to Osmena Boulevard, and on to the Basilica del Santo Niño de Cebu.

It was also pointed out that Rama preferred to use the phrase “Mardi gras” to refer to the Sinulog grand parade, although the phrase has been pointed out repeatedly by local language experts and historians as a misnomer.

Binge drinking, wanton abandon in dance and merriment, scantily clad dancers, and wild revelry are associated with Mardi gras events which make the term inappropriate reportedly to describe the Sinulog festivity that is a solemn religious activity. 

However, Rama announced in the said presscon on the use of “Mardi gras” this year as part of the event branding.