No ‘tiangge’ this year, Baclaran vendors told

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no “tiangge” (flea market) in front of the Baclaran Church in Parañaque City for the first time in years, much to the dismay of over 2,000 street vendors.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez said on Sunday that he would not allow vendors to take over the sidewalk of the Roxas Boulevard service road, in front of the National Shrine of Our Mother Of Perpetual Help, this Christmas season.

“They have to wait for the opening of the [Baclaran Gateway and People’s Market] next year,” Olivarez added.

Groundbreaking for the P150-million market — touted as the long-term solution to the decades-old problem of illegal vendors who cause heavy traffic in the area — will begin this month. The project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2020.

Olivarez urged the over 2,000 peddlers to rent private stalls elsewhere as he would not allow them to go back to their usual spots in front of the Baclaran Church.

Vendor protests

For 31-year-old Sally (not her real name), who has been selling religious icons and trinkets outside the church for 13 years, Olivarez’s request was “impossible.”

“We are on the streets because we are poor. We can’t even earn enough for our food. How do you expect us to pay for a stall?” she said.

The monthly rent for a small space in one of the alleys near the church would cost at least P5,000, excluding utility bills. Sally said this would be a big cut in her family’s budget since her daily earnings were around P500.

She appealed to Olivarez to “let the spirit of Christmas into his heart.”

“I hope the mayor will take pity on us and allow us to sell outside the church even if it’s only for the month of December. This will help us recover our capital and we will have food and gifts for our children this Christmas,” Sally added.

But should the government refuse to budge, she told the Inquirer that she was prepared to play a cat-and-mouse game with authorities.

“We will just hide if there are clearing operations and return to the sidewalk when they leave,” Sally said, adding: “I am used to playing hide-and-seek, whether it be with the police, city hall officials or the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).”

The city government and the MMDA have been clearing Roxas Boulevard of obstructions almost every day since 2017, upon the orders of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Compromise

In the past, city officials set up tents on the outermost lane of the Roxas Boulevard service road where vendors could sell their wares without fear of being chased away by law enforcers.

Of the four lanes of the service road, one was allocated for them while the rest were for vehicles.

The vendors, however, complained of lower sales because they claimed their stalls were in an unsafe place, thus scaring away their customers.

The tents were eventually dismantled during the nationwide clearing operations ordered by the interior department in July.