Food street to get facelift

CEBU, Philippines - In preparation for the 450th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines as well as the hosting of the International Eucharistic Congress in 2016, the food stalls located along Zamora St. between the Basilica del Sto. Niño and the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral will undergo a facelift courtesy of private and public partnership.

The stalls along Zamora Street will be standardized after the ones in Bangkok, Thailand.

Involved in the beautification project is the Movement for a Livable Cebu composed of Cebuano experts in architecture and engineering tapped by Augustinian priest Fr. Tito Soquino.

Like in Bangkok, food currently sold at the narrow street is planned to be “standardized” in such a way that the ingredients and manner of cooking will follow certain procedures or guidelines, making it more distinct.

“He (Soquino) asked MLC’s help to beautify Zamora St. in preparation for the 450th commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines and to prepare for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2016,” MLC convenor Louella Alix said, adding the idea was raised about two months ago.

Convenors Louella Alix and her husband Rudy are both in charge of this project.

“DPWH has a budget for Road Right of Way and beautification,” Louella said.

Also involved in designing the beautified food strip is the University of San Carlos College of Architecture and Fine Arts through its college dean Joseph Espina.

“We have collected data together with CAFA students who have finished the proposed design making it a wider and more lighted street,” she added.

Moreover, a more defined pedestrian lane is also eyed to improve the street.

“This is aimed to make the place more vibrant for tourists and also us Cebuanos. Fr. Tito also wanted to have two days in a week for organic farm trade at the area,” she explained.

As part of preliminary steps, MLC has approached and spoke with Sto. Niño barangay captain Pancho Ramirez and affected stall vendors.

The group also plans to meet with Mayor Michael Rama after his return from Taiwan next week.

Rudy stressed the problem in the project lies in the politics involved between the city government and the barangay council whose leaders belong to the opposing political alliance.

“The difficulty is more on the characters involved in this project. But if you see the possibility, this project is really good,” he said.  (FREEMAN)