CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Flower vendors in front of the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral in Barangay 1 here have asked Mayor Rolando Uy for a nearby selling location following the plan to transfer them.

FLOWER vendors in front of the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral in Barangay 1, Cagayan de Oro City, display their products on Wednesday afternoon, September 20. (Franck Dick Rosete)

"Our only request to Mayor Klarex Uy is to move us there near the Cathedral since this is where our customers used to buy our products," Richard Torralba, chairman of the Saint Augustine Religious and Flower Vendors Association (SARAFVA), said.

Last April, during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Operation Kahusay ug Kalinaw (OKK) building in Divisoria, Uy announced the plan to move the flower vendors, following the pronouncement for the rehabilitation of Duaw Park, located near the Cathedral.

The transfer, particularly flower vendors, seeks to enable citizens and visitors to see the total scenic view of the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral even from Capistrano St.

"Kay ang nakahasol ug nakababag sa katahom sa atong Cathedral ang atong mga kaigsuonan nga nanginabuhi dinhang dapita (Because the ones who bring hassle and hindrance to the beauty of our Cathedral are our brothers and sisters who are making a living there)," Uy said in his message during the groundbreaking ceremony on April 25.

If the plan pushes through, people will also see the complete view of the historic church every time they pass through the Ysalina Bridge to Gaerlan St. and vice versa.

THE Duaw Kagay-an Park located beside the Ysaline Bridge in Cagayan de Oro City. (Franck Dick Rosete)

Torralba said their association conducted a meeting to tackle the matter and there was no opposition to the plan. They have not received any information on where they will be transferred.

"I am in favor of Mayor Klarex Uy’s plan to transfer us because it’s for our own good. We are also safe, including the customers, since we are beside the road, which is dangerous for passing vehicles," he said in the vernacular.

The SARAFVA chairman stressed that they have been in their current selling location for around 50 years or since their parents time as far as he could remember.

Some religious and candle vendors in the Cathedral are also worried that they would be included in the transfer. But during Uy’s message, they were not mentioned, only the flower vendors.

Engr. Joel Momongan, acting head of the City Engineer’s Office, said he cannot provide the complete details yet since they are still finalizing the plan, but the mayor’s plan, he said, is definite to achieve the purpose.

"The only way to see it (the cathedral church) is to relocate these vendors, but we still have to organize them," Momongan said on Wednesday, September 20.

Aside from the flower shops, the tennis court, situated beside these vendors and Duaw Park, will also be transferred.

Last May 18, the city chief executive led the groundbreaking and capsule-laying ceremony for the one-hectare City Tennis Center, which has tennis courts, a practice wall, a covered tennis court, a clay court, a clubhouse, parking areas, and a playground. It will be built in an open space in Apovel Subdivision, Barangay Bulua.

The establishment of the City Tennis Center is part of the plan to transfer the tennis court located near the Cathedral.

The City Mayor’s Office was asked to comment but they decided not to since the city government is still organizing the plan.