Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Council asks Speed to report on sidewalk clearing
THE Cebu City Council has asked the Squatters Prevention, Encroachment and Elimination Division (Speed) office to apprise councilors of the extent of implementation of the ordinance regulating sidewalk and ambulant vending.
The committee on laws, in particular, endorsed the measure proposed by City Councilor Richard Osmeña, citing the council’s oversight function in the implementation of laws it enacted.
Sidewalk vending is a touchy issue in the city and has even led to an exchange of words and libel threats against Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Eugenio Faelnar.
Urban poor consultant Gerry Marquez challenged Faelnar to prove in court that he received money from sidewalk vendors who were spared from clearing operations by City Hall.
Faelnar allegedly made the statement in an interview with a local tabloid reporter two weeks ago.
Denial
But Faelnar, who sits as ex-officio member of the council, denied he made such a statement.
He said he merely wondered whether Marquez is defending someone and that maybe there’s money involved because many sidewalk structures remain untouched.
The row between the two officials started with Faelnar’s move to have sidewalk vendors’ stalls in the city demolished because of the traffic they cause.
Although sidewalk vending is illegal, Marquez said City Hall tolerates them to a certain level because of the vendors’ economic situation.
The two are allies of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who made it a policy to allow sidewalk vending as long as concerned establishments do not complain and that traffic and pedestrian flow are not obstructed.
Many times the Speed attempted to demolish illegal structures but the organized vendors often get a reprieve, upon the intervention of City officials.
Recommendations
This, however, did not stop Richard, Mayor Osmeña’s nephew, from formally asking before the council for Speed to inform them how it fared in clearing the sidewalk of obstructions.
“As a lawmaking body, the SP possesses what is known as oversight function to determine whether or not ordinances it had enacted had been fully and effectively implemented by the local executive,” the committee on laws said.
In asking the Speed to submit a report, the council also instructed the office to submit its recommendations on sidewalk vending in certain designated streets of the city.
At the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board, the body recently discussed the numerous vendors near the Cebu City Medical Center that affected traffic along Panganiban St.
Executive Officer Arnel Tancinco told the members that the mayor will not hesitate to issue demolition orders as long as there is sufficient justification. (RHM)
