THE sangguniang panlungsod led by councilors Michael Fernandez and Alex de Venecia and department heads met Thursday with business establishment owners and some sidewalk vendors and peddlers in the city for an educational forum before the citywide implementation of City Ordinance 1873-2006.The ordinance, authored by de Venecia, prohibits the use of sidewalks as parking area, loading and unloading zones, and for any purpose other than as passageways for pedestrians.
To satisfy all queries, it was agreed that a copy of the ordinance will be furnished all vendors and business establishment owners.
The City Mayor’s Office produced an eight-page pamphlet containing the local and national laws on the preservation of sidewalks for pedestrians.
The city executives explained thoroughly to the vendors the most asked question on why the penalty was raised to P1,000 from the original amount of P200.
In a radio interview, Mayor Benjamin Lim expressed his determination to clear the city’s sidewalks of ambulant and sidewalk vendors.
He stressed that the city government will adopt an iron-fist policy in its campaign against sidewalk vending to restore order and cleanliness in the sidewalks considering that the city is chosen as among the Philippine ‘dream cities.’
Recognizing that sidewalk vending is also a decent and honest form of living, the city government took care to provide relocation site for the sidewalk vendors at the MacAdore Building area.
The mayor encouraged them to occupy the area instead of displaying their wares on sidewalks without minding whether or not they caused inconvenience to pedestrians and traffic. This, according to the mayor, forces people to use the side of the streets, making them vulnerable to traffic accidents. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)