Tomas asks vendors' group for accounting

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas R. Osmeña yesterday demanded for an accounting of all collections of daily membership dues of the Cebu City United Vendors Association, believing that CCUVA is only being used as milking cow by its officials.

CCUVA is headed by Ermita Barangay Councilwoman Maria Pino-Buanghug and is considered as an umbrella organization of various vendors’ groups in Cebu City.

During the radio program “Si Osmeña ug ang Barangay” aired over DYLA yesterday, Osmeña questioned the way CCUVA collects weekly dues from their members, which he said can be considered as protection racket by the CCUVA officials.

Osmeña said the CCUVA officials, including Ermita Barangay Councilman Felicisimo “Emok” Rupinta who used to be the group’s former president and now serves as their adviser, must be transparent on how they handle their funds.

According to Osmeña, he received information that some vendors along the V. Rama Avenue in barangay Guadalupe are paying P14 weekly or P2 everyday as their dues to CCUVA.

The FREEMAN contacted several times the mobile phones of both Rupinta and Pino-Buanghug to get their comments on Osmeña’s allegations, but nobody answered their phones.

In a previous interview, Pino-Buanghug said CCUVA has at least 3,000 members throughout the city but most of them are operating in Carbon Public Market and at the sidewalks of the city.

Osmeña said the vendors can do nothing but join CCUVA, otherwise, they would not be allowed to operate in sidewalks.

“Basta dili gani sakop sa CCUVA naa dayon ang SPEED pero ug CCUVA gani aw dili lang hilabtan,” said Osmeña, saying that the CCUVA had been empowered by the administration of Mayor Michael Rama over the vendors’ activity.

SPEED chief Noel Artes denied that they are being used by the CCUVA officials to run after vendors who are not their members.

Pino-Buanghug and Rupinta were formers supporters of the Bando Osmeña Pundok-Kauswagan (BOPK), but only last Saturday the group’s general assembly at the Cebu City Sports Center was used by Rama as venue to identify the probable candidates of his political line-up.

Among those who climbed the stage and announced their intention to run as councilors under the Team Rama was Rupinta, who announced yesterday that he was invited by Rama to run under his line-up in the next year’s elections.

In a radio interview yesterday, Rupinta said he wants to be in-charge of the urban poor and vendors once he will be elected. (FREEMAN)