Pasig vendors clash with MMDA

Chaos reigned at the Pasig Public Market along Market Avenue in Pasig City when 185 Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) enforcers swooped down on the market to clear it of illegal sidewalk vendors.

Bobby Esquivel, of the MMDA Sidewalk Clearing Operations, said trouble erupted when sidewalk vendors tried to resist arrest and confiscation of their wares during the operation conducted at around 10 a.m.

It was learned that the vendors even pelted the MMDA operatives, who arrived on board 13 MMDA trucks, causing the destruction of a number of the vehicles.

Esquivel said that the clearing operations was conducted because a number of motorists and concerned citizens had been complaining of the congestion of the sidewalks caused by the illegal vendors that even spilled over the streets in the vicinity.

It was learned that several MMDA operatives sustained injuries during the melee.

Three unidentified Muslim vendors were arrested, including one who reportedly threw tear gas at the MMDA enforcers.

Around P400,000 worth of wares were confiscated during the clearing operations.