Vendors press for pact with QC government

The Metro Manila Vendors’ Association (MMVA) pressed for a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Quezon City government yesterday on the protection of street hawkers in the city.

However, city market administrator Neil Lina said the matter will require a careful study by the newly-created Market Development and Administration Department, which he heads.

But the clear mandate he has from Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is "to implement what the law says," he told a meeting with leaders of the MMVA yesterday.

He explained that national roads and highways within the city’s jurisdiction would be rid of street vendors and other obstructions. He said Executive Order 452, which assures the safety and security of vendors in their workplace, "is clear on that issue."

He said the city mayor supports the Metro Manila Development Authority’s campaign to clear Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares of obstructions and illegal vendors.

For its part, the MMVA said the proposed MOA with City Hall will adopt alternative vending sites for hawkers in such areas.

Leaders of the MMVA also said the proposed agreement would provide regular consultations between city officials and various vendors’ associations on matters that affect the vendors’ rights and welfare.

At the meeting, Flor Santos, national organizer of the militant group Sanlakas and an adviser to the MMVA, appealed to City Hall officials to help vendors whose goods have been seized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

"The problem is that our vendors are not given the chance to redeem the goods seized by the MMDA," said Santos. "Those goods are their only means of livelihood."

Lina said he would bring the issue to the attention of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.

City Hall officials and MMVA leaders are set to meet again next Wednesday to fine tune details of the proposed MOA.