Mayor defends clearing operations in market

COMMUNITY BILLBOARD

Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said on-going clearing operations by the city government inside the public market, saying is pursuant to of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino through the Baguio-Boracay Re-Development Committee for the clearing of sidewalks and market facilities from obstructions.

“We want to make it clear that the on-going clearing operations inside the city’s public market and sidewalks is to free our market from the proliferation of ambulant vendors and to make our sidewalks free from obstructions that impede the smooth flow of pedestrian traffic,” Domogan stressed, citing that the clearing operations is now again being politicized by his detractors.

            

He explained the purpose of the market clearing operations is to prevent legitimate stallholders from over extending their stalls which constrict the alleys and sidewalks within the market and to stop the sub-leasing of the frontages of stalls aside from checking vendors who are not religiously paying their dues to the local government.

            

Considering that the market is the show window of the city to the local and foreign and domestic tourists, Domogan pointed out it is high time to put order inside the premises of the facility to help enhance the growth of the local tourism industry and to make up for the absence of significant improvements in the market.

            

During the initial wave of clearing operations, the combined forces of the city treasury office, the public order and safety division, the market task force and the Baguio City Police Office discovered numerous stalls of legitimate market vendors that have over extended and encroached the sidewalks thereby resulting to the constriction of pedestrian traffic.

            

Furthermore, some of the vendors have allegedly sub-leased the frontages of their stalls to ambulant vendors which have resulted to overcrowding in most parts of the market.

            

Despite the issuance of color coded tags to the sidewalk vendors to ensure their compliance to the vending time and for them to pay the corresponding regulatory fees, the inspection team also discovered that most of the violet vendors did not settle their obligations to the city government since 2010.

            

According to him, the clearing operations inside the market was also approved by the Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) which is the governing body of the overall operations of the market, thus, it is unfair for his detractors to accuse him that they are driving away the vendors inside the market.

            

\“We have to admit that we cannot please everybody with our on-going clearing operations but we have to be decisive on the matter, especially that it is one of the marching orders of President Aquino,” Domogan said, adding that the city government will be consistent on the matter to show the people that local officials have the political will in sustaining order inside the market.

            

He said that the composite team will continue their clearing and monitoring activities inside the market to send a message to the erring vendors that the local government means business in imposing the rules and regulations that were crafted purposely for the operations of the market facility.