DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 June) — Sidewalk vendors who have been encroaching near the Bankerohan Public Market for over two decades were supposed to start transferring inside the market itself and some other relocation sites nearby on Saturday.
However, as observed by MindaNews, only one vendor so far has occupied the “talipapa” on the second floor near Rasay street.
The City Economic Enterprise (CEE) identified 406 vacant stalls within the market premises.
The CEE will also lease 76 vacant spaces on the second floor of the market.
Kiki Dayondon, the lone vendor spotted by MindaNews, sells bananas. She said they had been told by city officials to transfer “as soon as they can” starting today.
Dayondon said they have been encroaching on sidewalks since they started selling fruits in 1992, and they were only evicted once, in 2008.
“We were harassed by some public market personnel when we were evicted before. That’s why we appealed to [former city mayor] Sara Duterte. They went to us the next day, and we were allowed to return,” Dayondon said in the vernacular.
Sixteen years later, the order for them to relocate to the second floor of the main market made her worry again if the customers would be able to easily find them.
“For now, it still stinks. Pigeons are still defecating in it, so it needs to be cleaned by the City Environmental and Natural Resources Office. The location is okay overall, but the question is, will we make sales here? We’ll find out in time,” she said.
Dayondon said the other vendors share her observation and worry about poor sales and hygiene.
Fish vendors occupy the first floor, and the second floor used to be a storage area.
The vendor also said most of her fellow vendors might start selling on Monday, June 3, on the second floor where they already had assigned stalls.
Transferred sidewalk vendors were those who used to sell near Marfori Street, Datu Bago Street, and Posadas Street, in line with the “1/3-2/3” policy, which means a third of the sidewalk for vendors and two-thirds for pedestrians.
Posadas Street will be used as a parking space for motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles.
Personnel from Barangay 5-A, City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO), CEE, and the Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) were there to remove, dismantle, and clear obstructions along the roads along the sidewalks, long before Saturday, including those caused by tricycles and mobile stalls.
“As of today, June 1, we’re just clearing some pieces of wood and garbage,” ASU team leader RJ Tayabas told MindaNews Saturday afternoon.
The ASU will then confiscate the products of market vendors who would continue to sell along the roadside.
CTTMO Head Dionisio Abude said their personnel will monitor the area “round the clock” to ensure clear and open roads for vehicles entering and exiting the market.
He added they already warned sidewalk vendors that they have until May 31 to transfer to the public market premises during which they could negotiate for available stalls there. There will be no extensions, he said.
But he said they are ready to extend up to seven days from June 1 if vendors fail to self-demolish their stalls, particularly semi-permanent structures.
Abude said relocating the vendors will really help ease traffic flow in the area. He said some 700 vendors and barangay officials near the market were already informed of these changes. Signages with the warning “no vendors allowed” were placed near sidewalks.
In addition, Maximo Macalipes Jr., CEE head, said the sidewalk vendors’ transfer should have no effect on their sales.
“We’ll place signages leading to the main public market at the places where the vendors who encroached usually settle. Since the Bankerohan Public Market is already well-known and frequented by many, we won’t have any issues with customers,” Macalipes said.
In addition, a new traffic scheme will also be implemented, including the re-routing of 11 public utility Jeepneys and no-parking zones near the public market. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
