Vendors have until Jan. 6 to register

CEBU, Philippines — In a bid to accommodate late registrants, the Cebu City government has extended until January 6 the registration for vendors wanting to sell their products along the Sinulog Grand Parade route this year.

Of the 2,000 vendors projected to get accreditation, only about 900 turned in during the first schedule of registration from December 19 to 29 last year. This has prompted the Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor to schedule another round of registration from January 4 to 6.

“Naay nihangyo sa opisina nga wala sila na-inform and bisan unsa nalang nga rason. Nananghid ko nga mag-extend sa registration and this would be the last — this coming January 4, 5, and 6.This would be until Saturday. Mo-extend mi, motrabaho mi og weekend just for the registration sa mga vendors nga gusto morehistro,” DWUP operations head Genevieve Alcoseba told reporters yesterday.

Alcoseba hopes vendors will take advantage of the extended registration or their products will run the risk of getting confiscated by the authorities come Sinulog Grand Parade on January 21.

“Mo-cause og chaos kay ngano man? Magdinakupay man gud. And we are trying to refrain nga mahitabo na, unya Sinulog baya na unya magdinakupay ta so as much as possible 99 percent ang registrants, lesser ra ang apprehension nga mahitabo,” she said.

To register, a vendor should bring his/her voter’s identification card indicating that he/she is a resident of the city. Registration fee would vary depending on the product a vendor will sell.

Registered vendors will get identification cards that they can use to sell along the Sinulog route. A master list of all accredited vendors will be prepared by the city government after the registration.

Personnel from DWUP, along with those from Cebu City’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team, Philippine National Police, barangay tanods, and other deputized volunteers will be deployed along the route to check for and confiscate merchandise of vendors selling without registration.

Alcoseba also clarified that regular vendors – those who sell whether it’s Sinulog or not – are still required to get temporary approval from DWUP just like in the previous years.

She said those who registered earlier can expect their IDs released by next week.

“Ang ako lang magtinabangay ta para sa kahan-ay sa atoang umaabot nga Sinulog Festival kay mao na ang gipaninguha ni Mayor Tomas Osmeña nga han-ay gyud,” Alcoseba said. (FREEMAN)