Sto. Niño vendors slam PROBE’s ’10 commandments’

The Sto. Niño vendors are protesting these “10 commandments” set by PROBE for the vendors in D. Jakosalem Street. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The vendors selling images of the Sto. Niño along D. Jakosalem Street in Cebu City protested the establishment of tight and “unjust rules” for them by the city’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) Team.

The group has appealed to PROBE to remove the restrictions on not being able to repair images in their stalls, on the reduction of the size of the stalls and the sharing of one stall with another vendor, and on the alternating days schedule for vending.

They conducted a short protest at the Plaza Independencia on Thursday morning, November 5, 2020, to submit their manifestation and counterproposal.

Watch: Vendors hold a protest at Plaza Independencia

However, the satellite office at the plaza could not accept it for lack of authority. The vendors moved their protest to the City Hall, but they were asked to leave.

Through the entire protest, the police maintained a close distance to maintain order, but no apprehensions were made because the vendors were compliant and responsive to police negotiations.

Read: Cebu City seeks ‘balance’ between road clearing and vendors

Yet the vendors said they would continue their appeal to PROBE over the issue especially since their stalls had already been demolished last October 16, 2020, only to be relocated to an establishment.

It is not clear if they needed to pay rent for the use of this establishment, but the area is a roofed and each stall can be shared by two vendors.

Josephine Amora, a Sto. Niño vendor for almost 30 years, said these restrictions were another way of removing them from their stalls permanently, greatly affecting their livelihood.

One of the Sto. Niño vendors shows the 10 commandments of PROBE for the Sto. Niño vendors. CDN Digital | Delta Letigio

She said the rules were inhuman because each vendor had been given a mere two by three feet slot per stall and they would not be allowed to put up umbrellas or extended shade from their “tiny” spot.

“Mao ra man among hangyo nga makapaninda, makapanginabuhi mi para sa among mga pamilya. Dili gyod ni makatarungan, supak kaayo mi niini,” said Amora.

(What we are appealing is for us to sell our goods and services. That we can have a livelihood to feed our families. This is not right, we are against this.)

The group is hoping for a dialogue with PROBE Chief Racquel Arce, to air their grievances and suggest better regulations for their trade at D. Jakosalem Street.

The vendors are hoping, most of all, that they will be allowed to sell near the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño because they are selling the images of the Sto. Niño also a form of devotion.

“Kung asa ang simbahan, adto mi. Dili lang unta mi ipalayo,” said Amora.

(We should be near where the church is located. They should not send us away from it.)

CDN Digital tried to reach Arce for her response of the vendors’ appeal but the PROBE chief had yet to respond to queries./dbs