Sunday, February 04, 2007 City seeks legitimate vendors' help v. peddlers
THE City Government will tap the assistance of legitimate market vendors in guarding the city market against unscrupulous illegal traders who continue to hound the trading center amid the city's renewed clearing drive.
This was firmed up during the latest meeting of the Task Force Palengke led by City Administrator Peter Fianza with the market vendors.
Fianza said the vendors can greatly help the city by policing their own ranks against the illegitimate vendors since the city remains shorthanded in guarding the market area round-the-clock despite efforts to beef up its manpower assigned to the area.
Strong-willed peddlers earlier driven away from their illegal posts continue to hound the market brushing with the authorities in a cat-and-mouse fashion.
The situation prompted the City Government to assign additional employees to augment the team to guard the market but this remained insufficient as the vendors remained persistent.
As decided during the meeting, legitimate vendors would be authorized to drive away illegitimate ones by calmly informing them of their illegal activity and of the need to leave the premises. If the erring vendors refuse, then the legitimate vendors are urged to report them to the market office or the city police for action.
The scheme, Fianza said, will encourage legitimate vendors to also do their share in protecting their turf as the clearing campaign is also for their benefit.
Legitimate vendors earlier called the city's attention on the need to renew the drive against illegal peddlers by resorting to dirty tricks like going out of their assigned stalls and peddling along illegal spots themselves.
Fianza said instead of resorting to such tacks, which do not also sit well with the City Government, the vendors might as well be tapped as partners of the local government in the campaign.
Acting Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. earlier vowed to sustain the market clearing drive and restore the long neglected zoning policy at the city market at all cost.
He directed City Treasurer Thelma Manaois to stop issuing business permits to market stalls that violate the zoning rule by selling merchandise that they are not authorized to sell and sustained earlier order for the city treasurer to stop issuing cash tickets or cuartais to illegal vendors to prove that the city is serious in its bid to drive away illegal traders.
The mayor also ordered the deployment of more personnel to the city market office to augment the team assigned to monitor the market and drive away the illegal sellers. The team is composed of personnel from the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD), the demolition team under the City Building and Architecture Office (Cbao), the market office under the City Treasurer's Office (CTO) and the Baguio City police. (AR)
