Cebu City considers return of ambulant, sidewalk vendors

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered a task force to look into allowing the return of the city’s sidewalk and ambulant vendors amid the pandemic, as the city entered its second month under the most-relaxed community quarantine level. 

Executive Order No. 097, which creates the task force, was signed on Friday, October 2, two weeks after a video of an ambulant vendor circulated on social media as she was pleading with personnel of the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification and Enhancement or PROBE not to confiscate her cart.

“Ang maong lakang agig tubag sa panawagan sa mga ambulant vendors nga tugotan sila mga makabaligya pag-usab human sila nawad-an sila sa ilang panginabuhian mga pipila na ka buwan karon tungod sa pandemya,” a post by the Cebu Public Information Office read.

(This step was taken in response to the calls of ambulant vendors for them to be allowed to sell again after they lost their livelihood for months due to the pandemic.)

The task force, headed by Councilor David Tumulak, will look into the number of vendors displaced during the imposition of community quarantine in the city back in March. Cebu City is currently under modified general community quarantine or MGCQ. 

The EO states that the task force, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, is also expected to assess the viability of allowing the vendors to return, to come up with guidelines and protocols, and monitor the compliance of the vendors. – Rappler.com