Bid to decriminalize sidewalk vending aired (1/2)

3 MIN READ

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW

First of two parts

BAGUIO CITY — Maria Mendoza, 51, widow, is a vegetable vendor at the city market here for 25 years now. Naty Corpuz, 49, has been selling vegetables here since she was 10. Ana Killip, 45, arrived here from the Mountain Province, at least 150 kilometers from here, to try her luck as a fruit vendor since she married in her early 20s.

They came from different places and backgrounds but they now face a common threat: the city’s anti-vending policy, which they claim would deny their right to earn a living for their families.

The sidewalk vendors are now calling the city council to review its seven-year old anti-vending ordinance which is among those incorporated under Tax Ordinance 2000-001 to help them continue selling. It is their only source of livelihood.

Human rights advocates claim that the Tax Ordinance is a violation of the people’s rights to livelihood as it contravenes the policies contained in international instruments and in the 1987 Constitution which mandates that the state shall “free the people from poverty through policies that promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.”

Anti-vending policy

The city adopted on December 18, 2000 (which became effective on January 1, 2001) Tax Ordinance No. 2000-001 which prohibits vending particularly at the central business district here. It incorporated all past ordinances and now the comprehensive ordinance which prohibits sidewalk vending in the city.

Section 143 of the said ordinance prohibits any person to sell merchandise in places where vendors and buyers pass or in designated passage ways or alleys. It also prohibits any person to sell in any place outside of the market premises merchandise intended for sale in the market.

In Section 178, it provides penalty for violation of the ordinance which shall be upon conviction be fined of not less than P 1,000 nor more than P 5,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month nor more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.

The ordinance also provides a set of rules and regulations governing the administration, appraisal, assessment, levy and collection of local taxes pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991, the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project learned from Greg Deligero, chief of the Public and Order Safety Division (POSD).

The city has about 3,000 sidewalk vendors during off-peak season, mostly women and residents of the city, said Deligero. Of this number, 1,500 are found in the CBD alone, media reported.

But the number of sidewalk vendors swells to a maximum of 7,000 during peak season such as the Panagbenga or flower festival every February due to influx of vendors from nearby lowland provinces of La Union and Pangasinan, Deligero added.

Kurtais

Sidewalk vendors are classified into two: those paying and not paying the kurtais, a regulation fee imposed by the City Treasurer’s Office that ranges from five to ten pesos (less than a dollar).

The kurtais-paying vendors are considered registered and are designated areas where they can sell their wares.

Non-paying vendors meanwhile are not considered registered and occupy sidewalks and roads because they do not have designated areas to sell.

Deligero said the ordinance has even been relaxed in the last years for humanitarian reasons as the city government allowed them to sell their wares near the days and during Christmas and New Year where vendors at least earn income on the said important events.

Vendors had criticized the city government as the mayor through the POSD ordered vendors on December 30, 2008 not to sell as Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might visit the market. The visit did not push through and vendors claimed they missed an income for that day and showed their “politicized” situation of having no secured livelihood.

In November last year, Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. signed Administrative Order 169 creating a committee to identify vacant areas to accommodate registered vendors.

Relocation for registered vendors

“This time it would be different. Much as we are giving a chance for vendors who shall register to legitimize their business, the Implementing Rules and Regulations likewise provides that only relocated vendors with business permits may be allowed to sell,” Bautista said.

AO 169 is based on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2001-135 which compels local governments to identify and designate vacant areas for vending by registered vendors only.

Councilor Elaine Sembrano, member of the committee, said it has not conducted a meeting yet on the issue.

While supportive of the Tax Ordinance, Sembrano believed the city government must immediately address the need to look for areas for vendors. The committee however does not have enough time to discuss it in 2008, she admitted. #

Continued next week