Cebu City establishments urged to plan properly when holding sale

A crowd gathers in the vicinity of a shoe store offering a sale along Sanson Road in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City on Wednesday morning, November 11, 2020. | Photo courtesy of Michael Pugoy Arong

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Establishments here are advised to plan properly when conducting promotional events such as a sale. 

Officials from the city government and Cebu City Police made this statement after a shoe store along Sanson Road in Barangay Lahug was ordered to close indefinitely after its failure to control crowd gathering outside its premises for its scheduled 11.11 sale on Wednesday, November 11, 2020.

Read: Cebu City gov’t orders indefinite closure of shoe store after failure to control crowd in 11.11 sale

The city’s Business Processing and Licensing Office (BPLO) issued the management a show-cause order, giving them 72 hours to explain the violations they committed.

They reported that the shop not only violated mandates to ensure social distancing in public places but also operating without business permit, and doing sale events without proper permission from the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas (DTI-7). 

Police, including members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team, also dispersed around 1,000 individuals queueing for the store to open at 9 a.m. 

Read: Cebu City police disperse crowd gathering for shoe store’s 11.11 sale

“This is a warning to all other establishments that when they conduct sale events, they should have a prior contingency plan, and they will cooperate, coordinate with local police and government for crowd control,” said Police Major Randy Caballes, chief of the City Intelligence Branch (CIB). 

Councilor Joel Garganera, head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), also advised business owners and buyers alike to always observe minimum health standards. 

“I understand – kinsay di mupalit ug barato pareha ug binignit kinsay di mupalit ug binignit para sa kwaresma? (who wouldn’t buy affordable shoes which is similar to buying binignit – who wouldn’t buy binignit during the Holy Week?) But they should always look on their safety,” said Garganera. 

Police said the crowd and store owners were cooperative when they were told to go home and suspend its operations, respectively.

/bmjo