The Divisoria night market is an iconic part of Manila.

Every night, droves of shoppers flock to the Divisoria night market for affordable goods. And with the holiday season coming up, more people are expected to arrive to do their Christmas shopping.

But the dozens of shopping stalls and hundreds (if not thousands) of shoppers cause horrendous traffic in the area, so Manila City Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada ordered the night market to close shop for the whole month of December.

“Ang kalsada ginawa po ito para sa mga sasakyan, hindi para pag tindahan,” Estrada said in an ABS-CBN News report.

(The roads were made for vehicles, not for shopping stalls.)

Vendors are now worried about breaking even, especially since most of them had to borrow capital to buy products for their stalls just in time for the Christmas season.

For the whole month of December, vendors and stalls are banned along Recto Avenue from Abad Santos Street to Juan Luna Street.

With Mayor Estrada’s new directive, Christmas shopping won’t be the same for many. So better do it early.

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