City vendors say market-day rollout is cutting their income

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Vendors operating inside Iloilo City’s public markets have appealed to the city government to prioritize their welfare, claiming that the participation of ambulant vendors, or bolanteros, in scheduled night markets has reduced their sales.

In a letter to Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, the Federation of Iloilo City Public Markets argued that the city’s move to allow bolanteros from the province to sell in the night markets has adversely affected vendors in the public markets.

“While the bolanteros were able to seek help, this has also affected us. Instead of buying from us, many consumers now flock to the night markets held in every district to buy goods in bulk,” the letter read.

The vendors appealed to Treñas-Chu to prioritize the city’s legitimate market vendors, noting that they are the mayor’s direct constituents and paying stallholders in the public markets.

“We ask that you also give priority to the vendors of Iloilo City because we are your own constituents. The bolanteros, meanwhile, are also the responsibility of the governor of Iloilo province,” it added.

The federation stressed that both city vendors and ambulant vendors are working hard to earn a living, but it said each group should primarily receive support from its own local government.

“We, the legitimate paying vendors of the city public markets, along with the ambient vendors from different municipalities, are all working hard to earn a living. However, each of us belongs to our respective local governments from whom we should rightfully depend for support and care,” the vendors argued.

The federation expressed hope that the city government would respond “in a fair and compassionate manner” by giving city vendors the priority they believe they deserve.

Bolanteros have long been a fixture in Iloilo City’s public markets, particularly at the Iloilo Central Market (Tienda Mayor) and the Iloilo Terminal Market (Super), selling fresh produce and other goods alongside regular stallholders.

The two markets reopened in November 2025 after a redevelopment under the city government’s public-private partnership with SM Prime Holdings Inc., a roughly PHP 3 billion project that expanded stall capacity from 911 to 1,160.

After the reopening, the city government stepped up enforcement against unauthorized vending under the Market Code of 2009, which bars the sale of goods within 100 meters of the public markets.

The stricter enforcement prompted protests from bolanteros, many of whom had been selling around the markets for years and said the clearing operations threatened their livelihood.

In response, the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) crafted what it described as a “win-win” solution by institutionalizing rotating market days across the city’s six public markets.

The program allows bolanteros, including those from the province, to sell their products legally on assigned days while minimizing direct competition with permanent stallholders.

The city rolled out the rotational schedule in late March:

• Central Market: Monday, 6 p.m. to Tuesday, 5 a.m.
• Iloilo Terminal (“Super”) Market: Tuesday, 6 p.m. to Wednesday, 5 a.m.
• Jaro Big Market: Wednesday, 6 p.m. to Thursday, noon
• Mandurriao Market: Friday, 6 p.m. to Saturday, 5 a.m.
• La Paz Market: Saturday, 5 a.m. to Sunday, noon
• Arevalo Market: Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.

In an April interview, LEEO head Maricel Mabaquiao said the schedules underwent consultations and were agreed upon by stakeholders.

“Before we implemented and decided about this market day, we had a meeting with the market vendors association, market vendors, and the market [officer-]in-charge,” she said.

“We have consulted vendors of each market, and they agreed to it,” she added.

To regulate participation, LEEO issued identification cards and assigned control numbers to accredited bolanteros.

Each market was given a fixed allocation of vending spaces based on available capacity, meaning not all bolanteros could be accommodated at every venue.

The LEEO has said more than 300 bolanteros from Iloilo City and the province are registered, with about 200 stalls set aside inside the Terminal Market.