Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim advised Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando to keep their sidewalk clearing operations outside Manila as the city government has allowed vendors to ply their wares on sidewalks for humanitarian reasons.
“I jokingly told Chairman Fernando that they are welcome anytime but I cannot guarantee their safety. Their problem is how they will get out,” Lim said during the Kapihan ng Bayan forum at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.
He said the city government allows vendors to occupy one square meter along sidewalks in key areas of Manila so they have a source of income, particularly during the holiday season.
Lim, however, admitted that when policemen are not around, vendors practically make the sidewalk their kitchen and sleeping quarters.
Police officers “cannot just arrest them for humanitarian reasons. We tolerate them because if they lose their source of income, they might resort to criminal activities. That is a more serious problem,” he said.
On the other hand, Lim said in a statement that he ordered the clearing of C.M. Recto Avenue leading to Divisoria market after receiving complaints of road obstructions caused by undisciplined sidewalk vendors.
“I have a standing directive to our law enforcers to clear the streets of vendors. The streets belong to motorists, the sidewalks to pedestrians, and a portion of these sidewalks have already been allotted to the vendors. They cannot and should not go beyond that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MMDA said it is not going to go easy on sidewalk vendors during the holiday season despite appeals for the agency to at least postpone demolition operations until after Christmas.
Fernando said while the MMDA is observing a moratorium on diggings, it will still clear roads and sidewalks of obstructions.
“People need more of sidewalks during this time of year,” he told The STAR in an interview yesterday.
He said traffic is expected to worsen during the holiday rush, which means that roads and streets need to be cleared of anything that would obstruct traffic flow.
The MMDA’s Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG) has been continuously conducting clearing operations all over Metro Manila, generating complaints from owners and vendors of makeshift stalls, who had expected the MMDA to be more accommodating.
Fernando, however, urged holiday shoppers to patronize stores with legal or legitimate shops, telling them that sidewalk vendors “are likely to trick them.” – With Evelyn Macairan, Lloyd Ian Pangilinan, Elaine Gatchalian, Lileth Abe