The San Juan City local government and the Greenhills Shopping Mall have relaunched its Greenhills Night Market located at the GStrip Parking Area, kickstarting the start of the Christmas season and the city's return to normalcy amid the continuing decline in Covid-19 cases being tallied around Metro Manila.

The launch was led by San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, his family and officials of the city government, as well as Greenhills mall officials where they simultaneously lit up the night market's giant Christmas tree and other Christmas lights and decors. A fireworks display followed the lighting ceremony.

According to mall officials, over 50 food stalls have been set up at the night market ranging from Filipino to foreign cuisines such as Korean and Japanese that visitors can enjoy.

A must-go place for bargain items, a lot of sellers have also opened their so-called "tiangges" offering different goods such as toys, houseware, apparel, and other gift items.

Children may also enjoy the night market's mini carnival and ferris wheel.

Aside from shopping, visitors may also enjoy the mall's fireworks display every Saturday.

According to Greenhills Mall Operations AVP James Candelaria, they are expecting the daily average foot traffic in the mall and night market to increase to over 200,000 individuals, double than the 75,000-100,000 visitors they recorded last year

To prevent the spread of the virus, Candelaria said that they are highly encouraging the wearing of face masks by both their customers and employees at all times even as he assured the public that the mall and night market staff are all fully vaccinated.

On Nov. 4, Zamora signed City Ordinance No. 54, Series of 2022, adopting Executive Order No. 7 issued by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in both indoor and outdoor settings in the city except in health care facilities, medical transport vehicles and public transportation by land, air, or sea.

“The operative word here is “voluntary.” No one is forcing anyone not to wear a mask. So we have the option if we feel that the indoor area we are in is safe then we have the option not to wear a mask. If we feel that it’s crowded and there’s too many people and it’s not safe, then we have the option or choice to wear a mask,” he said in a previous interview with ANC.

The mayor urged the public to visit the mall and its night market but reminded them to get vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19.

"Aking panawagan ho na magpabakuna po tayo, magpabooster po tayo dahil dito sa San Juan, naranasan na natin ang magandang epekto ng mataas na pagbabakuna (I urge everyone to get vaccinated because here in San Juan, we have already experienced the positive effects of having a high vaccination rate)," Zamora said.

"Balik sa normal po ang buhay dito. Lahat ng activities gaya dito sa FilOil Flying V Center, all sorts of sporting activities like basketball, volleyball, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), mga malalaking liga ay nagagawa na ho natin. Di naman tayo nagkakaroon ng pagtaas ng bilang ng mga kaso. Ganun din ho ang Greenhills Shopping Center. Sa gitna ng pandemya, bukas naman po ito madaming mga pumupunta araw araw ngunit di naman nagdadala ng mataas na bilang ng mga kaso so talagang vaccination is the key here (We are starting to get back to normal here in San Juan. All our activities here like the sporting events at the FilOil Flying V Center such as basketball, volleyball, the NCAA, all the big leagues and sporting events are now getting back to normal here. Despite these developments, we did not experience any increase in the number of active cases. Even with the reopening of the Greenhills Shopping Center in the middle of the pandemic, we have not recorded any increase in Covid-19 cases, proving that vaccination really is the key)," the mayor noted.

The Greenhills Night Market is open from 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m daily until January 8.