Flower vendors barred from sidewalks, cemetery roads

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

ALL flower vendors are barred from selling on sidewalks and roads leading to cemeteries in the metro, according to Public safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu.

Conlu made the pronouncement a week before the observation of All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day this year.

“Ang mga bulak indi pwede magbaligya sa mga sidewalks kag sa dalan naton. Didto na lang sila mabaligya sa aton mga merkado kag plaza,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

According to Conlu, all flower vendors will be allowed in district plazas except for vendors in City Proper area where they will be temporarily placed in a vacant lot along Iznart Street in front of Hua Siong College of Iloilo.

“Ang biggest change lang amo ni aton nga flower vendors sa City Proper area sa Central Market kay dira sa Aldeguer Street wala na sila so didto sila ibutang sa property sang Tan sa tubang sang Hua Siong College,” he said.

Before, flower vendors in City Proper district sell their products on the sidewalks of Central Market in Aldeguer Street, Iloilo City. But all sidewalk vendors have been displaced following the mandate of the national government to local chief executives to clear all public roads and highways.

Conlu said structures along access roads to private or public cemeteries in the metro will also be prohibited.

“Ang sa mga cemetery entrance nga dalan ukon pasulod sa aton cemetery, private man or public, indi man namon pag-allow nga magbutang structures nga magbaligya. Subong gasugod na kami clearing sang mga dalan pasulod sa sementeryo,” he said.

The PSTMO chief said the almost 500 flower vendors in the metro will start selling in their designated areas on Oct 30, 2019.

Conlu also reminded flower vendors to secure a special permit from the Iloilo City Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) worth P200 and a barangay permit with a fee worth P100.

“Kon may suga sila may dugang pa gid sila na balayran pero luwas dira wala na sang balaydan. Kon may manukot nga sobra dira, indi gid allowed kag i-report gid nila sa aton,” he said.