Vendors have until today to register for Sinulog

CEBU, Philippines — Vendors who wish to sell their products during the Sinulog have until today to register, otherwise their merchandise will be confiscated come grand parade on January 21.

As of Thursday, Janaury 4, only 1,400 vendors from Cebu City have registered. Most of them are selling native hats, printed shirts, and stickers, among others.

The city government has extended until today the registration for vendors wanting to sell their products along the Sinulog Grand Parade route this year. The registration started on December 18 last year.

Genevieve Alcoseba, operations chief of the Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor, said throng of vendors have been flocking to their office to get an accreditation.

The number of vendors may exceed the projected 2,000 registrants.

“Molapas gyud ta sa 2,000 vendors kay nanaghan man sila ron, wala pa nay labot outside Cebu City,” she said.

As per the directive of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, she said they will prioritize vendors who are residents of the city.

To register for accreditation, DWUP requires the vendors to bring their voter’s identification cards (IDs).

“Amo mana’g tan-awon ang area, if madala pa then atong pasudlon ang dili taga Cebu City, if dili na mangita ta og lugar nga makatinda gyud sila,” Alcoseba said.

Accredited vendors will be issued IDs by the city government. Those who will not have accreditation will not be allowed to sell during the Sinulog Grand Parade.

Those who will be caught selling without accreditation will have their merchandise confiscated.

Alcoseba said the scheme is designed to regulate and control the vendors during the Sinulog, saying “we strive to make the celebration orderly and peaceful.”

The DWUP personnel together with the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team, Philippine National Police, barangay tanods and other deputized volunteers are tasked to check vendor's accreditation. These personnel will be stationed along the grand parade route.

Cashing in on Sinulog

Aside from the religious and cultural aspects attributed to the annual Sinulog celebration, it is also the best season to do business in the city as people of all sorts come together to participate the revelry.

Two weeks away from one of the country’s grandest festival, Sinulog souvenir items are now being displayed along its major procession and parade routes.

With close to a hundred stalls lined up along the stretch of Jones Avenue,  Norsayma Botawan, a native from Marawi who is selling souvenir shirts, said people can choose from the variety of designs each stall cater to.

Sinulog t-shirts, accessories and other memorabilia can be bought from less than P 100 to P 200.

Another first timer who has yet to experience how Cebuanos celebrate Sinulog is Danilo Belonio who hails from Butuan City.

Belonio, who said he has mixed feelings for his first ever Sinulog, is taking charge of the walk-in customers who prefer to choose their own shirt designs to be manually printed through a silk-screen.

“Kapoy sa lawas gyud ni. Ang uban malingaw pero kami trabaho. Okay ra man sad kay para man sad ni makakwarta mi,” he said.

Now on his fifteenth year selling native merchandise every Sinulog, Gabriel Mendones Jr., 57, who is from Luzon, said he has since been a devotee of Sr. Sto. Niño.

Uncertain of what the outcome of their venture will be, vendors who travelled all the way from the neighboring provinces are hoping that the liquor ban and the bomb threats will not stop the public from buying from their goods.

“Sa pagkakaron nihit paman. Mukusog rani kasagaran one week sa di pa mag Sinulog gyud, amo nana gi-expect,” Philip, 24, from Cagayan de Oro.

Moreover, tenants are seeking for an extension of their lease, citing the delay of the electrical connection as the reason why they were not able to put up their products as agreed.

“Sana ma-extend pa kami kasi two months dapat kami dito kaso nagkaproblema, malulugi kami,” Mendones said. —KBQ (FREEMANNEWS)