LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Unpaid vegetable purchases at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post in Benguet ballooned to P23.64 million.
And in a bid to stop such practice, members of the League of Associations at La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Area Inc. asked municipal officials to accredit buyers in the trading post.
On May 2, a dialogue was held at Lednicky Hall of Municipal Building of the Benguet capital town. An offshoot of the request letter of League of Associations at La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Area Inc. to the local officials of the Benguet capital town stating that for the past month, they have been collating unpaid purchases of various buyers from different key markets in the country of which all are considered accumulated debts from farmers and local traders.
On the same day, a signing of promissory note or payment of their debts was done with some paying in advance and in full.
Augusta Balanoy of the League of Associations and Benguet Farmers Marketing Cooperative general manager said the dialogue is meant to develop system for the payment of the debts.
“Naiintindihan naman namin na sa negosyo normal mangutang kaso sila kasi marami ng natatambakan ng utang,” Balanoy said.
Balanoy added they are pushing for the accreditation of buyers in the trading post asking the lawmakers of La Trinidad put the matter into law.
“If hindi accredited iyong mga buyers, anybody can just enter,” she added.
Municipal legal officer lawyer Bartolome Baldas said the first step to solve the matter is to have a consensus of all debts and release demand letter.
“If they don’t want to pay, course of action is to file a case,” addressed Baldas.
Unpaid highland veggies include carrots, celery, potatoes, raddish, and wombok among others.
One suggestion raised is to ban buyers with prior debt records at the trading post to avoid the same problem and for this to be incorporated in the proposed amendments of the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post Code.
At Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), same concern is being experienced, however, Violeta Salda, chief of Operations of BAPTC said the matter is being fixed by concern farmers group.