Mayor Estrada taps Jinggoy’s ex-aide for Divisoria makeover

Saying he was not satisfied with a councilor earlier tasked to turn Divisoria into a lively tourist shopping district similar to Mong Kok in Hong Kong, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has given the job to the city administrator, who is a former congressman and chief of staff of his son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

Estrada on Tuesday said he had issued a memorandum replacing Councilor Dennis Alcoreza as head of Task Force Divisoria with former Nueva Ecija representative and now city administrator Simeon Garcia.

“He was not effective because he’s a politician,” Estrada said of Alcoreza. The mayor did not elaborate.

Garcia is just one of the City Hall appointees who had connections either to Estrada’s short-lived presidency or his political roots in San Juan.

Familiar names

Estrada earlier tapped Jay Flaminiano, one of his lawyers in his Sandiganbayan plunder trial, to head the city’s legal office.

Edward Serapio, the presidential legal adviser who became Estrada’s coaccused in the plunder case, is now back as secretary to the mayor.

James Albert Dichaves, son of another coaccused, businessman Jaime Dichaves, is now director of Manila’s Public Recreations Bureau.

Former San Juan vice mayor and professional basketball player Philip Cezar now heads the Manila Sports Council. Cezar was San Juan’s No. 2 when Jinggoy and later his half-brother JV Ejercito served as the mayor.

Vendors org ‘added burden’

In an earlier interview with the Inquirer, Alcoreza said an association was established to organize vendors in Divisoria— including those operating without permits—in an effort to stamp out rampant extortion. He had spoken of a plan to regulate their operations.

He was referring to the United Sidewalk Vendors of Divisoria Association Inc.

But some vendors have reportedly been complaining about the regulatory fee amounting to P1,075 a year and the P620 monthly concession fee being collected by the association. The fees are on top of the P20 per square meter hawker’s fee charged by the city government.

But according to Estrada, “the organization is an additional burden to the vendors. It’s like they’re handing out a franchise.”

Collection target

All vending collections will now go directly to the City Treasurer’s Office, he said, while a one-stop satellite office for licensing, permit and tax payments will be put up at 168 Mall.

According to Adil Khan, head of the vending collection unit of the city treasurer’s office, his unit had set a collection target of P6 million for January. As of Jan. 20, P4 million have been collected.

Sought for comment regarding Estrada’s decision to replace him in the task force, Alcoreza said: “There are overhead costs in maintaining the association. The vendors failed to see the long-term benefits of having Social Security System and PhilHealth memberships.”

“There are a lot of internal factors in Divisoria and we should not lose sight of the bigger picture,” Alcoreza said. “We still support the decision of the mayor. Let’s give it a chance and hope for the best.”