The city government will continue to close both lanes of Session Road for the conduct of the weekend showcase encounter designed to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to recover from the heavy impact inflicted by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong claimed that there is no better place to conduct the said
activity if not in Session road that is why he is not inclined to transfer the same to other areas.
He urged the individuals and groups opposing the conduct of the regular Sunday showcase encounter to understand the purpose of the activity which is to help the MSMEs recover from the effects of the pandemic and that the same is done only once a week. For those in the city public market, the local chief executive stipulated that the vendors have their  own  regular customers  that  patronize their  goods  and  services daily while  those participating in the regular Sunday showcase are doing the same only once a week.
According to him, the city government does not intend to forego the said activity because many MSMEs  are  benefitting  from  the  same  aside  from  contributing  to  the  ongoing  efforts  to pedestrianize the city’s main road.
Earlier, concerned vendors from the public market trooped to the city council last week to air their opposition to the regular conduct of the Sunday showcase encounter because the products sold by the stall holders are similar to the ones being sold in the market stalls that is why they tend to incur loss in supposed income.
However, the mayor explained that the city will look into the possibility of reducing the number of stalls that will be allowed to participate in the Sunday showcase encounter to ensure the availability of more spaces where people could move around.
He added that the current number of participants will be divided into 2 groups and each group will  be  allowed  to  do  their  trade  on  an  alternate  basis  to  ensure  that  the  prevailing implementation  of  the  basic  health  and  safety  protocols  will  be  strictly  observed  by  the participants and the public.
He said that the reduction on the number of exhibitors in the different parts of Session road will be implemented the soonest.
(Photo courtesy by Joseph Manzano)