Legal office to seek DILG opinion on vendors’ plea

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City –City Legal Officer Jose Bayatan said the city will ask theopinion of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the request of sidewalk vendors to allow them back on the sidewalks at the downtown for the Christmas season.

Bayatan said that DILG’ s evaluation on the road clearing operation is still ongoing.

“We have to ask the DILG’s position on that,” he told reporters here.

He reiterated that the road clearing operations was a directive from no less than President Rodrigo Duterte through the DILG.

Bayatan also said that it is not only the downtown area that is being cleared of illegal structures but roads as well.

He also appealed to the public not to put up structures on the cleared areas.

Earlier,sidewalk vendors in the downtown area who were moved to the Vendors’ Plaza due to the road clearing operations asked Mayor Evelio Leonardia that they be allowed back to sell in time for the Christmas holidays.

Executive assistant Ernesto Pineda said some fruit vendors also asked the mayor to allow them to sell fruits at the Bacolod Public Plaza this Christmas season.

The vendors claimed that their sales were adversely affected since they were relocated to the Vendors’ Plaza which is a long way off from the crowd compared to the downtown area.

(Photo Courtesy of Marco Verch/flickr.com)