No turning back

Undeterred by rallies in the streets and a possible legal battle in the courts, feisty Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando said he will not be stopped in his fight to give back Metro Manila’s sidewalks to pedestrians.

"There’s no turning back," he said on his Sunday radio show aired over DZBB yesterday.

Traditionally opposing militant groups and politicians have joined together in supporting illegal sidewalk vendors and in criticizing Fernando’s so-called "militaristic" style. They have warned to stage a mammoth rally this week and file a case against Fernando for allegedly violating a presidential order that guaranteed the livelihood of street vendors.

Bayan Muna Secretary General and Caloocan City councilor Nathaniel Santiago, for one, said order issued by former President Fidel Ramos allows vendors to use the sidewalks for their trade.

But Fernando said a Supreme Court ruling carries more weight than a mere order by a former President.

A 1992 Supreme Court ruling, Fernando said, is his proof that he is on the side of the law. It involves the case of one Francisco Dacanay versus Caloocan Mayor Macario Asistio, City Engineer Luciano Sarte, Jr., and a vendors group. Asistio gave permits to the vendors to sell on the sidewalk but according to the High Court, a public street is property for public use, "hence outside the commerce of man".

Protests and politicians notwithstanding, the former Marikina City mayor has time and again said the right of other people – the property owners, pedestrians, and motorists – should also be protected.

"All these people have rights. If you allow vendors to stay on the sidewalks, on properties of businesses and residents, then you also violate their rights," Fernando said.

He added that he respects the sidewalk vendors for having an entrepreneurial mind, but they have to get off the streets and into markets to do business.

Fernando’s chief for traffic operations, Angelito Vergel de Dios, dismissed the protests against the MMDA chairman as mere "propaganda," exhibiting the usual hues of politics.

"If you notice, these politicians apparently are only seeking publicity," he said.

Even Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, in an earlier interview, reminded those congressmen siding with the vendors that illegal vending is "a problem for mayors to solve".

Vergel de Dios added that the MMDA implements the law regardless of who would be at the receiving end when it cracks the whip.

For example, the Department of Interior and Local Government, Vergel de Dios pointed out, was ordered to remove three steps from the stairs at its building entrance on EDSA as these were already obstructing the flow of traffic. Even the Central Police District’s Station 10 in Kamuning was not spared. Its concrete fence was torn down because it was already eating up space which should have been part of the sidewalk and the southbound lane of EDSA.

"Hindi lang vendors ang tinatanggal naming obstructions," Vergel de Dios emphasized.

More than anything else, Vergel de Dios said that his boss is banking on the support of Metro Manila residents, most of whom consider Fernando as the first MMDA chief who pursued a relentless drive to implement order in the busy, polluted, and overpopulated metropolis.

A survey conducted by a TV show where Fernando was recently a guest, results showed 82 percent of the people supported the MMDA’s chairman campaign compared to the opposition’s less than 20 percent.

"Let’s see the response of the people, after everybody has aired their issues and complaints. It’s time for the people to decide," Fernando said. – With Marvin Sy and Boy Suarez