Sinulog Festival

VENDORS occupying temporary stalls at the side of the Abellana National School asked the Cebu City government to extend their stay for two more weeks because more than half of their goods have not been sold.

About 65 vendors have been selling their merchandise along Osmeña Boulevard since Dec. 1. They are supposed to leave by Jan. 31.

Most of the vendors came from Mindanao particularly in Zamboanga City. Some were from Baguio City while others were from the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Ormoc. There were some who were from Cebu City.

“Our sales our low and it's hard for us to earn back our capital,” Najer Langco said in Filipino.

He said vendors had dropped the prices of their goods.

The “malong” which sells from P250 to 350 before the Sinulog festivities is now being sold at P150 to P250 or even less. A native bag that used to cost P350 is now sold at P250 a piece.

Lim Adapon of Zamboanga City said vendors want all their goods sold because they do not want to bring them back to their hometowns.

If so, they would have to pay the cargo that would cost about P1,000 per sack.

Jamal Sultan of Zamboanga said he and his relatives have been renting stalls for the Sinulog for about 20 years already. It is only this year that they experienced low sales, he added.

He said vendors jacked up their prices a little this year to cope with increase of rental imposed by the Sinulog Foundation Inc. from P30,000 last year to P35,000 this year.

The night market on Colon Street also affected their sales because “we sell the same products,” Sultan said. /Correspondent Chris A. Ligan