A CEBU City councilor wants the City Government to set new market entrance fee rates for certain commodities sold in City-owned and operated public markets.
Councilor Alvin Arcilla, head of the committee on markets, filed a draft legislation amending Section 11.5 of City Ordinance 2486, or the City Market Code in response to the clamor of vendor associations in Cebu City.
"The recent round of increases in the prices of oil and oil products and the implementation of the TRAIN Law, which was not implemented yet during the formulation and passage of the City Market Code of 2017, have heavily taken their toll on our small-time retailing and livelihood activities in the City-owned and operated public markets," one of the position papers of vendors' groups said.
Based on the draft legislation, Section 11.5 is amended to provide that a market entrance fee shall be collected from transient vendors and/or consignee of any commodity or merchandise, brought into the premises of public markets owned and operated by the City, for sale.
Under the existing ordinance, vendors have to pay P5 to P10 for every sack of rice, corn, feeds, wheat and flour, sugar and salt, and for every crate or box of bananas adn P10 per caing or box of other fruits.
Vendors also have to pay P10 for every sack or caing of produce, and P20 for every sack or caing of flowers.
Some P12 is charged per sack of vegetables and P20 per sack of preserved goods such as dried fish.
If approved, Arcilla wants the entrance fee for grains decreased by P2.50 for every 50-kilo sack.
He also wants vendors to pay only P8 for every crate of fruits.
The council referred Arcilla's proposed ordinance to the committee on laws for their review. (RTF)