CeBu CeBoom CeBlog

The annual Sinulog Festival has been a major attraction for all people from all walks of life from across the country and from around the world. These people can be classified into three distinct groups no matter what their ethnic background is. These are the tourists, pilgrims, and entrepreneurs.

Some people come here for fun and leisure and we call them tourists or holidaymakers. Some people come here from distant lands and islands to pay homage to the holy image of Santo Niño and we call them pilgrims. Yet, some people come here simply to make money and what do you call them? Entrepreneurs. Traders. Merchants. Enterprisers. Whatever we call them, they come here to make money.

Traders from as far as Baguio in Luzon and Jolo in Tawi-Tawi make an annual trip to Cebu to take part in a lucrative seasonal market. They used to set up stalls in almost every corner of the city and most of them did not secure permit to sell, thus they were illegal and sometimes ending up victims to big-time extortionists. To solve the problem, the city government has designated areas for them where they can sell their merchandise at a nominal fee for the duration of the festivities usually from December to end of January.

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Cebu’s lifestyle shopping mecca, Ayala Center Cebu, will undergo a major renovation and expansion starting next year. Cebu Holdings, Inc., the operator of the shopping center, is celebrating its 17th year in Cebu early this month.

CHI is one of Cebu’s partners in economic development in recent memory. It has invested billions of pesos in commercial and residential developments in the metro and adjacent towns. It has contributed millions of pesos more into the local economy in the form of business taxes and employment opportunities.

Part of CHI’s portfolio is Ayala Center Cebu, its maiden commercial project in the province. The mall was built in 1993 and has caught on the Cebuanos’ middle to upper-class’ elite shopping fancy. It is the first garden mall in Cebu, boasting of a fair expanse of greenery around the area with a man-made lagoon to boot at the northern portion.