Monday, January 05, 2009 Rama to tackle owners’ complaints
ACTING Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama will meet with all concerned groups about the complaint of establishment owners at the Carbon Public Market against vendors who occupy the streets during the day.
The vendors have Rama’s approval to stay in the area as part of the Christmas night market, on condition that they clear the streets after 6 a.m.
But the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber complained that the vendors block their delivery trucks from going to their stores during the day. Other establishments allegedly had to close.
Rama said that if the complaint is true, what the vendors did was not proper.
“Dili na mao. Wala na apil sa sabot nga maabot sa buntag. Ato nang iklaro kay December lahi na, basin magtoo sila nga pwede ra (That’s not the agreement. We have to settle this),” he said.
“I will call the attention of whoever are the parties. We have a consultant with regards to that matter,” he said.
Rama said the problem is “not an easy concern” because it involves the livelihood of both the vendors and the establishment owners.
The traders complained that the vendors were in the streets even during the day.
Jeff Go of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, who represents the establishment owners, said the vendors blocked Plaridel, Magallanes, Manalili, Lincoln, F. Gonzales, and M.C. Briones Sts. without consulting them.
He said this might scare customers away as heavy traffic in Carbon was caused by the road closures.
The vendors were supposed to just occupy the streets during the night and clear the roads during the day.
In a separate interview, Cebu City United Vendors Association president Maria Pino denied that vendors occupied the streets during the day.
She admitted, though, that there was a time when vendors took time to stay on the streets, but that the establishments were closed during those days anyway.
Market Administrator Raquel Arce, in a separate interview, said she cleared the vendors last Dec. 31 after receiving the complaint.
The businessmen’s group is writing Rama a formal complaint.
Rama said he will meet with the different groups and offices concerned, most especially that the Sinulog, when visitors throng the city, is fast approaching. (RHM)
