5 arrested QC vendors still in jail

MANILA, Philippines — Five vendors remained in detention on Wednesday, a day after their arrest by city officials who caught them selling vegetables on Roosevelt Avenue in Barangay Veterans, Quezon City.

The vendors, all residents of the city, were apprehended around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday by members of the city’s Market Development Administration Division who turned them over to the Masambong police. Their goods were also confiscated.

Their lawyer, Aaron Pedrosa of multisectoral rights group Sanlakas, said the vendors were later transferred to the police outpost in Project 6 because the cells at the police station were crowded.

Pedrosa said they were awaiting the resolution of the city prosecutor’s office but he was confident the vendors would be given consideration.

“We reiterate our appeal to the government to stop arresting and detaining vendors who are struggling to make ends meet while providing an essential service to the community. They need assistance and protection, not harassment and prosecution,” he stressed.

— Mariejo S. Ramos