Lapu-Lapu City Street Vendors
vs.
CTMS Task
Force: A Never-Ending Battle
Street vending
Informal trading has existed ever since goods and services were
levied. Hence, this type of entrepreneurship has been operating since time
immemorial. The most prevalent facets of this business sector are
street and ambulant vending.
Street vending is often associated with mobile stalls, cheaper
goods, and services; however, it has also been attributed to smuggled and
counterfeit merchandise. In some cases, these informal trades create a foyer of
the products from larger manufacturing companies involved in underground
economy. The government fights a never-ending battle against these delinquents.
Special task force operations are done to completely wipe them out but their
determination to eradicate these informal sectors is tantamount to the vendors’
resistance to the regulation.
This industry has received undesirable commentaries and ghastly
forms of riddance over the years. The cause of these unjust ways of abolishing
the street traders can be charged to their resistance from abiding the rules
and legal processes of taxation and business permits. Majority of the street
vendors does not obtain legal consent to sell or operate along the sidewalks
due to their failure to comply certain requirements such as proper sanitation,
stall locations, and authenticity of goods and even services offered.
Philippine perspective on street trading
In the Philippines, street trading has become a customary sight
that triggers no protest or any forms of grumble from the pedestrians or even
from the government sectors. For many years, street vending has become the way
of living for small-scale enterprise owners who do not have sufficient
financial resources to secure an authorized place for operating their business.
Most of these street entrepreneurs emerged from the rural areas to the cities
with the hopes of finding an opportunity to earn for a living. Majority of them
do not bear the qualifications to seek employment in the formal sector so they
resort to entrepreneurship that requires a smaller capital to begin with. With
a few items to sell, they prefer to find comfort on the sidewalks and sheds
because they do not pay taxes nor rent for a place on designated places such as
public markets. They think it is just fair not to be levied for their earnings
are even smaller than what they need to survive.
Counterfeit and substandard products
Most of what they sell includes cheap food items like candies,
fruits, and Pinoy street food. Some also displays dry goods such as body
accessories, footwear, clothes, and home ornaments. This perspective remained
true over the years until the emergence of imported merchandise. In the past a
small-scale and micro business owner did not face fears in competition against
imported brands. Local products draw an advantage over these internationally
branded goods because of the glaring differences in pricing. Although quality
is implied in the expensiveness of a product, local creations do not stand too
far from the line in terms of quality. Most consumers especially those who
belong to the middle classes prefer to patronize local products and compromise
quality over price.
This is a thing in the past. Today, consumers would often choose
imported goods for an exactly opposite reason. Contrary to the perception that
buyers has before, imported goods are much cheaper now compared to local
brands. A variety of choices are also available in a more affordable price. The
patronage of local products has become rarely practiced. The accessibility of
the said merchandise has also contributed to the impressive support of local
consumers to these types of goods. So how come these imported products became
cheaper than the local stuff? If one is not a local himself, he may not
understand the rationale of this. These cheap imported products are either
smuggled or counterfeit. It has been a known fact which has not been regulated
or in some cases, tolerated and even protected by some government officials and
agencies. These goods are deliberately sold on the streets. The face of street
vending has drastically changed from small items to wide selection of branded
imitations. Locals often term it “imit” or “China” because these
products are widely known to be made in China and exported through the backdoor
of Philippine ports.
In the urban streets of Cebu, an emerging group of street vendors
has also become visible. They are the Muslims who sell their merchandise from
apparels to gadgets. The authenticity of these products is questioned; however,
they continue to penetrate the local business sector.
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) director
general Ricardo R. Blancaflor reports that his agency has partnered with the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and
the US Embassy to clamp down on IP violations. Authorities also added that
there was an annual drop in the value of confiscated fake merchandise in 2012
from 2011 because of the improved enforcement of intellectual property laws.
This sounds good news but this does not hold true in some areas in Cebu City
and Lapu-lapu City. The deliberate selling of these products are tolerated and
even supported by both the consumers and government sectors.
Street vending affects motorist and pedestrians
Apart from the questions of authenticity and quality of the
products being sold by street vendors, the space they occupy which becomes a
contributing factor to obstruction of the traffic flow and to the pedestrians
have constantly been condemned. They occupy much space to the point of invading
even the main road where vehicles pass. Pedestrians, on the other hand, would
take pains in using the road along with the herding vehicles.
Flor, a fifty-year old mother, considers herself a “suki”
(frequent or loyal customer) of the street vendors in Opon Market for more than
20 years now. She goes to the wet market almost every day and attends mass
every Sunday at Birhen de la Regla Church. She admits that she finds the
existence of these vendors beneficial to her because she can bargain with their
pricing. She also finds them accessible when she forgets something on her
grocery list.
“Pero samok kaayo ni sila kun ma-Dominggo kay dili ta ka-agi,”
Flor said as she expresses her sentiments about the proliferation of these
vendors especially on Sundays when a mass of churchgoers pass through the
sidewalks with the vehicles cueing up in traffic. This has become a constant
complaint of the pedestrians along Lopez Jaena and Rerdon Streets which serve
as main roads for motorists and churchgoers.
CTMS Task Force views
According to Lapu-lapu City Traffic Management System (CTMS) Task
Force, they are aware of this scenario but there are no formal complaints filed
from the pedestrians and motorists. For the first quarter of this year, they
have only received complaints from big business establishments operating near
Opon Market such as Asian Home, La Nueva Supermarket, and Kakeng confirmed the
Task Force personnel, Mr. Denti Pascual.
When one of the respondents was asked about filing a formal
complaint to CTMS, she thinks it is a waste of time when nothing happens at the
end.
“Kaduol anang office sa CTMS sa simbahan apan wa sila makakita
anang sitwasyona,” she said. CTMS office sits beside the Birhen de la Regla
Shrine but the Task Force office is situated beside Lapu-lapu City Hall.
Pascual confirms that the Clearing Team conducts demolition
operations randomly. They do not literally chase after the street vendors but
they confiscate their merchandise. He admits that it is quite taxing on their
part to seize the products especially the ambulant sidecars and tables. He
added that they only have seven men on duty during the day and eight during the
night. Most of their personnel are senior citizens who either lack the strength
to perform the job well or have gone tired of performing the same task
repeatedly. The clearing team admits they lack human resources to fulfill the
task at hand.
If this is the case, why are they still keeping personnel who
cannot be effective in the job? Since they are aware of these issues on
efficacy, action plans must be set and implemented.
Questions like why these street vendors still continue to crowd
the sidewalks are also raised. Pascual pointed out the insufficiency
of the ordinance that outlines their right to put the confiscated merchandise
on hold.
Inadequacy of implementing ordinance
City Ordinance 484-97, “Comprehensive Environmental and Sanitation
Code of Lapu-lapu City” only provides that the Clearing Team is allowed to
store the merchandise within 15 days. Under Article III, Section 8 of the same
ordinance, the offenders may render a penalty of Php300.00 to Php1,000.00 which
also depends on the number of times a vendor has offended.
This implies that after the vendor has paid his dues, she can get
his supplies again. Pascual explains that this can cause repeat offenders. On
their third offense, the vendor should never be allowed to sell on the streets
again.
Pascual contrasts the existing ordinance in Lapu-lapu City to that
of the ordinance in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue. They do not return the
supplies forcing the street vendors to drift away from street enterprising.
However, for Lapu-lapu City, this problem becomes a never-ending
process. Most of the vendors who pay to get their merchandise back are women
who tag their children along and beg for another chance to start another
business away from the streets. According to Pascual, they would normally talk
to the team’s consultant, Ms. Cleofe Solis which kind of stirs an emotional
response in the part of Solis.
“Kani lagi’ng babae, maluoy pud magtan-aw sa mga tindera nga maghilak
nya mag-guroy-guroy sa ilan’g gagmay’ng anak,” said Pasual in an interview.
Most often this scenario would lead to a remissive ending wherein the offender
gets a chance to commit the same violation.
Another challenge that the Clearing Team pointed out is the lack
of escorts for security and protection when the vendors tend to be more
aggressive during the demolition. Pascual recalls an incident when one the
members of the team got wounded during the clearing operations. He emphasized
that they are not allowed to bring arms and the escorts were on-the-job police
cadets who even leaped into the patrol car to secure themselves. It is indeed,
a risky task for them and they are left without any security.
A chance for the street vendors
One most important concern called into question is the lenient
treatment of the sidewalk vendors during the night, holidays, and weekends.
Pascual explains that their operations do not stop even during the mentioned
days. He uses the term “chance” to describe the opportunity they give to
the vendors during specified hours on weekdays and weekends including holidays.
During weekdays and Sundays, street vendors are allowed to start
displaying their goods at 5 PM onwards. Sundays are the busiest days of the
week for Opon streets because it lies near the church yet the CTMS give leeway
to the vendors during these days.
Is there something wrong with this kind of logic?
CTMS Task Force said they conduct an inventory of all the street
vendors who are allowed to sell during the holidays and weekends, and the busy
hours of in the afternoon during weekdays. They track the names to regulate the
number of vendors that can occupy the sidewalks.
It seems sardonic that the people who clear the sidewalks are the
same people who allow the vendors to settle and find a place near the street.
On this note, Pascual clarifies that they have this invisible demarcation
line that sets the vendors from the streets to keep them from impeding the
traffic flow.
Where do these vendors occupy? On the pavements which pedestrians
are supposed to use. Isn’t this still called obstruction of sidewalks? Then,
why are they allowing this?
Street vendors’ perspective
Two of the respondents among the sidewalk vendors, Jasmine and
Chona, claim that they have never experienced such dilemma in making a living
when Arturo Radaza was still the incumbent mayor. They were free to display
their merchandise whatever time they desire to be there. Currently, with Paz
Radaza as the city mayor, all things obstructing the traffic flow and the
sidewalks have been knocked down. Since then, the vendors are always on the
look out of the Clearing Team.
“Mudagan mi kun naa sila pero mubalik ra pud mi kay wala man mi
lain panginabuhian,” explains Chona, a street vendor who has been selling for
more than 20 years. Running from the Clearing Team sparks a little tension on
what seems to be a routine for them.
Most of the vendors who choose to stay on the sidewalks have a
common reason of repeating their offense despite the penalties – lacks
opportunities for income generation. Jasmine, a sidewalk vendor who has been
selling for 13 years, also shared that he she has some debts to pay every day
so she is left without a choice but to take the risk in street vending wherein
they do not have to pay for space rent.
Sound judgment
It is quite a humane act to consider the sentiments shared by the
street vendors; however, these boil down to personal justification. The
underlying cause of implementing laws and ordinances is for the welfare of the
general public.
Hence, street vending should not be tolerated. Aside from
obstructing the sidewalks and traffic flow, this type of informal trade has
also become a nesting place for counterfeit and substandard products. Plans of
enhancing the city ordinance are conceptualized by the authorities; however,
they remain hollow ideas until acted out.
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