DAVAO City Traffic and Transport Management Office (CTTMO) will conduct a series of dialogues with vendors at the closed Roxas Night Market to discuss terms so they could operate in the area again.
CTTMO head Rhodelio Poliquit also the chief operating officer of the Tiangge sa Katawhan or the Night Market, met with vendors in front of the City Hall on Thursaday, August 4.
On Wednesday morning, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ordered the closure of the Roxas Night Market and warned to never to re-open it if the vendors will not abide by the rules.
The vendors were delighted as Poliquit agreed to meet again with them next week. He has scheduled to meet first the vendors selling used clothings or “ukay-ukay” on August 8 at 1 p.m. at the Davao City Recreation Center.
Next, he will talk with the food and accessory vendors as well as the masseurs at 8 a.m. on August 9 at the same place.
“If we come to an agreement, then there is a possibility that the Night Market will be re-opened in the afternoon of August 9,” Poliquit said.
Duterte-Carpio decided to close the night market due to following violations: refusal to follow the “one-family-one-stall” rule, vendors’ insistence on their preferred locations and presence of stalls that are run by financiers but managed by dummies, vendors sub-leasing stalls, claims that vendors were able to buy or secure rights/permits over preferred stalls, and presence of illegal vendors.
Poliquit cited some of the vendors have threatened CTTMO personnel.
SunStar Davao, on Wednesday evening, interviewed some of the vendors who used to have post at the Night Market.
“Nahisgutan naman ni sauna na mawala jud ning night market kung padayon gihapon ang uban mag ginahi og ulo, tama jud, wala jud nagpalibak, na close na gyud (temporarily), wa tay mabuhat, unta dili maabtan og one week (closure), diri naman gud amo panginabuhian, (We actually feared that this will happen if some vendors will still violate rules (set by the City Government) and it did happen, it’s now temporarily closed, there’s nothing we can do, I just hope this won’t last a week. This is already our source of income)” said 28-year old dirty ice cream vendor Randy Montenegro.
Montenegro urged his co-vendors to follow rules to pave way for the reopening of the busiest, million-earning night market in Roxas Avenue, Davao City.
He shared they are earning some P18, 000 to P20,000 per night in the night market.
“Siguro karon, kay na close man, mamaligya na mi ani whole, magsuro-suroy sa mga palengke, parks, schools ug kung asa ba daghan tao, pero expected jud na minus ang kita ani, (With the closure, we will still continue to sell ice cream but maybe we will roam around the city, in the public markets, parks, schools and any other public places but we are expecting lesser income than we are earning from the night market)” he said.
On the other hand, Poliquit said staff from the City Health Office and City Environment and Natural Resources Office would also attend all of the meetings he set with the vendors next week.