Baguio market purge on to stop illegal activities

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- City government offices intensified monitoring of the city public market to weed out illegal activities and ensure cleanliness and install orderliness in compliance to the directive of Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
    City Market Division personnel led by Market Superintendent Ceasar Emilio and market enforcer Stephanie Joy Espada conducted another round of inspection of some stalls last July 4, 2023 to ensure that these are complying with sanitation laws and observing proper way of waste disposal.
    The team also ensured that entrepreneurs are complying with the   anti-plastic and Styrofoam, smoke-free and other ordinances.
    Emilio said they also checked for stalls with illegal extensions or those not complying with their approved line of business or do not have approved business permits at all.
    Violators were issued notices to pay fines or rectify their misdeeds.
    The activities came on the heels of the crackdown on uncalibrated weighing scales waged by the market office and the Public Order and Safety Division of the City Mayor's Office and the inspection conducted by the inter-office Meat Task Force led by the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) to check on the quality of meat and fish products being sold.
    The revitalized Oplan Timbangan resulted in an increased number of calibrated weighing scales or a total of 872 from June to July 4, confiscation of 37 defective scales and issuance of notices of violations to those who violated the six-month calibration policy.
    The Meat Task Force inspection conducted at the fish and meat sections of the market at Rillera Building and Kayang Streets meanwhile resulted in the confiscation of fish and meat nearing spoilage from the stalls including 16.5 kilograms of bangus, 1 kilogram of shrimp and 7.84 kilograms of meat.
    The task force also issued smoking citation tickets to stall owners who were allowing their employees to smoke inside their stalls.
    The Meat Task Force is composed of personnel from the CVAO, City Treasury Office - Market Division (CTO-MD), City Health Services Office - Sanitation Division (CHSO-SD), Permit and Licensing Division (PLD), Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) - Station 7 (COMPACT 1) and the POSD.
    The task force said it "is committed to ensuring the safety and quality of the products sold at the city market.
    They committed to "continue to conduct regular inspections and monitoring to ensure that the market is clean and safe for all market patrons."