BACOLOD City – Some sidewalk vendors here just cannot let go of their areas. Yesterday, they took the metro’s major thoroughfares in increasing numbers to ply their holiday wares.
In a press conference on Monday, Mayor Evelio Leonardia clarified the city government did not authorize these “defiant” vendors to occupy the city streets.
“Some vendors claimed that they were allowed by the city but officially, we have not done that,” the mayor stressed.
However, he said he would be seeking to have the situation remedied with the help of the police.
“Since natapos nademolished ang mga obstructions sa sidewalks, may arrangement kami dira ni Colonel Henry Biñas. Supposedly iya na ina sang pulis balantayan,” Leonardia added.
Panay News reached Biñas, director of Bacolod City Police Office, for comments but it has yet to receive its reply as of this writing.
On Dec. 4, Leonardia issued an executive order creating “Paskwa sa Plaza” to accommodate displaced vendors starting December until Jan. 6 next year.
Ernesto Pineda, cluster head on sectoral concerns, said under Leonardia’s order, vendors will only be allowed to trade at the public plaza and its surrounding parking areas. He added that these event was aimed to balance the mandate of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in its Memorandum Circular No. 2019-193./PN
