Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez will call the attention of the supervisor at the Libertad Public Market to explain the alleged consumption of confiscated fish in the area.
This was after one of the market vendors complained that one of the members of the City Legal Office (CLO)-Enforcement Team was seen cooking the fish that were confiscated from them for an alleged illegal vending in the area.
It was posted on social media.
Benitez said the market supervisor should submit a report to answer the allegation of the vendor.
Rey Demisana, head of the CLO-Enforcement Unit, said they already investigated the incident and the vendor who was apprehended for the illegal vending donated the fish to a charitable institution.
He said the incident happened in Libertad Public Market on March 21, but he denied that the confiscated fish was consumed by a member of the CLO-Enforcement team.
“Our member was cooking his dish and someone took a picture and posted it on social media,” he added.
Demisana noted that all the confiscated products were also documented by the enforcement team including the donated products with a receipt.
He said once they finished their operation, the incident was reported to a police station then the confiscated products would be donated to the charitable institutions that will accept the products.
“It’s a perishable product and once they fail to claim it immediately, it will be donated to a charitable institution,” he said.
He added that before the operation, their members were also reminded not to touch the confiscated products, but once they used the confiscated products, they would be removed from their post immediately.
Demisana noted that they have a storage area for the confiscated products so that the vendors can claim it once they paid their penalty.
He said their team was conducting a daily operation, especially in Libertad Public Market.
He said some vendors were occupying the streets and they are not allowed to display in the area.
“Our vendors should occupy their stalls inside the public market and not the streets,” he said.
For her part, Councilor Celia Matea Flor, chairperson of the City Council committee on markets, said she will require the CLO-Enforcement team to submit its guidelines on how they operate in the public markets.
She said the enforcement team should issue a receipt so that the vendor can claim their products once they paid their penalty.
She added that she will pass a resolution next week requesting the CLO-Enforcement team to submit the guidelines for their operations.*