Basilica del Sto. Niño balloon vendors will soon be banned from selling inside the basilica complex, but vendors in a meeting with priests appealed for a space at the Basilica. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Balloon vendors yesterday pleaded for Agustinian priests to reconsider a decision to ban the sale of balloons inside the Sto. Niño basilica and along the procession route, a safety measure agreed by fiesta organizers to avoid an accidental power outage.
Vendors look forward to peak sales in the annual fiesta of the Sto. Niño, patron of Cebu, which covers a nine-day period.
They can earn as much as P1,500 a day or triple what they make an ordinary day, said Benjamina Bacho, a member of the Basilica United Vendors and Photographers Association (BUVPA).
“If they don’t let us inside, this would be the first time we won’t be allowed to sell,” she said in Cebuano.
The mother of eight, who’s been selling at the basilica for over 30 years, said small vendors who sell balloons for P40 to P50 each have no other means of livelihood.
“Dili mada nga dili mi papabaligyaon dinhi kay unsa man tawn ang among ipalit og bugas og sud-an. (If they ban us here, what will we use to buy rice and viand),” said Bacho.
The president of the vendors association was set to meet last night with the rector Fr. Jonas Mejares. Balloon vendors were still seen inside the basilica grounds yesterday.
Mejares told Cebu Daily News it was a difficult decision.
“While I am for the environment, I also understand the plight of our balloon vendors. Of course, we could not avoid opposition from the balloon vendors to the plan. But we’re looking at the livelihood of these vendors versus majority of the people who may be affected due to the risks posed by the balloons,” he said.
The decision to ban the sale of balloons was announced in Tuesday’s press conference of fiesta organizers.
A power transformer exploded along M.J. Cuenco Avenue when it was hit by a flying balloon in last year’s procession. It caused a temporary power outage.
“We can’t allow that to happen again this year. As much as possible, we want to clear the procession route of any kinds of obstruction,” said Rafael Yap, executive director of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management, who heads the procession committee of the fiesta.
“It was decided upon by the executive committee to totally ban the selling of balloons within the vicinity of the basilica and along the procession route in light of the dangers posed by balloons,” said Yap.
On Jan. 18 hundreds of thousands of devotees make the annual prayer walk following the carroza of the Sto. Niño down the city’s main streets.
Another reason for discouraging balloons has to do with protecting wildlife, especially sea animals.
Basilica fathers stopped the practice of sending off balloons with prayer notes attached in response to the call of environment advocates who said research showed that balloons that end up in the sea are eaten by marine animals like whales and dolphins, who mistake them for food. The synthetic material ends up in their stomachs undigested, causing the animals’ death.
But it’s up to the basilica rector whether to enforce a ban since the baloon vendors are regulated by the Agustinian order.
The route this year for the January 18 solemn foot procession excludes Leon Kilat Street which gets flooded when it rains.
This shortens the route by 200 meters to 5.7 kilometers compared to last year’s path.
Yap told CDN his committee asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to declog drainage along the procession route to prevent flooding and repair damaged manhole covers. Most of them are along Magallanes and Borromeo Streets in the downtown area.
Yap presented suggestions for a better flow in the religious procession during a January 4 meeting of the fiesta executive committee.
The proposed ban of balloons and vendors along the procession route was one of them.
While the city government can prohibit vendors, he said the regulation of balloon vendors is up to the basilica rector who also heads the execom.
Balloon vendors belong to an association that is regulated by the basilica, he said.
“I don’t see any problem doing this because we still have a week to disseminate the information,” Yap said.
Roads along the procession route will be closed starting 10 a.m. of January 18, a Saturday.
Citom and the city’s anti-squatting team will check the 5.7 kilometer route to make sure that it is free of obstruction.
A medical van parked akong Panganiban Street also has to be removed as well as parked vehicles with construction materials.
When Fr. Mejares met yesterday with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, he asked for assistance in crowd control.
The mayor offered the use of monoblock chairs to seat devotees who overflow the packed basilica grounds where 11 daily masses are held in the Pilgrim Center.
Part of Plaza Sugbu near the Magellan’s Cross was designated a sitting area for Mass goers who can no longer be accommodated in the church grounds.