Thursday, April 10, 2008 Find relocation site in 2 days: Tomas to Fort San Pedro vendors
VENDORS outside Fort San Pedro will have time to tear down their stalls on their own and to look for a relocation site after the mayor put off last Tuesday’s scheduled demolition.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he agreed to give the owners of 22 stalls along the sidewalk two more days to negotiate with officials of the barangays where they will transfer.
The vendors themselves looked for the place where they could move to; and if the barangay captain agrees to the relocation of their stalls there, Osmeña said he will not oppose it.
“They found a place to relocate to so I told them they have to get the permission of the barangay captain first. I’m giving them two days to convince the barangay captain
to allow them to go there,” he told reporters yesterday.
The mayor would not say in what barangay the vendors will transfer so as not to appear that he was putting pressure on the officials.
Demolition
Osmeña already signed the demolition order to clear the sidewalk leading to the Cebu port’s Pier I entrance.
Aside from obstructing the sidewalk and the center island, the vendors’ stalls also get very dirty, especially at night, he said.
The mayor said that as a matter of policy, he leaves sidewalk vendors alone unless residents and businessmen operating in the area complain.
The stalls were supposed to be demolished last Tuesday afternoon after Osmeña said he was not willing to give the vendors a chance to extend their stay.
But after discussing their concerns with City Administrator Francisco Fernandez yesterday, the vendors got a reprieve.(LCR)
