Friday, July 09, 2004 New markets, same old practices? By Abraham V. Llera
WHEN Kagayanons party, they really party. The Bulua Terminal is something that can put to shame the ones in Pasay.
The Carmen and Cogon markets are probably better than Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City. Grand, brand-new structures. But won't it house the same bulok paninda, timbangan, and practices?
One reason why I rejoiced at the coming of Makro is that she represents for me freedom from the bondage of the public markets.
Of course, SM's there before Makro came but the fish prices are, well pang SM. So I had to be content with Carmen. The problem is, and pardon me for saying this, lahat ng konsumisyon ay nandoon.
Of course, not all fish vendors are guilty, but sad to say, my experience with Carmen market has been short of what one may call "pleasant."
Dirty. Everytime I go to Carmen market to buy fish I have to wear special clothes and I use public transport. Why? Because fifteen minutes there fixes on your clothes enough fish smell that will stick on your car seat and consign the clothes you wear to the laundry batya (not the laundry basket).
Sorry-looking fish. It's not only the fish that's sorry-looking. Pati yong namamalengke, sorry looking face din. E paano, 'yong nocos puting-puti, malinis na malinis which of course means it's probably been there a week. Fresh nocos is always a blackened mess.
Yong tilapia, putlang-putla; parang tinorture bago dines-play. Ang sapsap malinis na malinis. You know it's also called sapsap where I come from but the more common name is lawayan. Why? Because the fish is so fresh it exudes a gooey fluid.
In quite a few occasions, my wife had to throw to the dogs the fish I bought-bulok and unfit for human consumption. I hope certain vendors light a candle for each customer they sell to in the event the customer dies after eating the vendor's fish, but I doubt they do.
Questionable weighing scales. Ahh, I will really win for myself enemies if I say more about weighing scales being institutionalized fraud so I will keep quiet. Note that the matter of weighing scales also includes sleight of hands tactics.
So here are suggestions addressed to City Hall.
Offer customers a choice. Can we not perhaps have different sections in the market? One section can be pretty much like the present one: dirty, bulok paninda, crooked scales. Maybe we call this Konsumisyon Section.
Then we have another section where fresh fish can be had, the weighing scales are relatively new (and honest) and not rust encrusted and the vendor herself beyond reproach like Caesar's wife.
By "fresh" is meant straight from the sea or straight from correct frozen storage. One thing I like in Makro is that even if tuna has been in storage for a few days, it is frozen rock hard that it is strictly speaking really fresh.
Hopefully, this will break the pernicious cycle that governs the rules of engagement in our public markets.
The vendors have to scrimp on ice, shave off a few grams in the scale, flip aside one or two fishes and in some occasion shortchange the customer because of the outrageous prices customers demand.
The customers, on the other hand, demand hangyo and won't settle for anything than the lowest price because he is shortchanged as above.
(July 9, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
