MARKETS OF CHAOS: Fix wet sections first – vendors

FISH section of the LaPaz public market in Iloilo City. (Ricky Alejo)

VENDORS in Iloilo City public markets said the city government should prioritize the rehabilitation of the wet sections.

Woody Deliarte, president of Iloilo Terminal Market Vendors Association, said sanitation problems are common in wet sections like the fish stalls.

“Kung may budget, unahon gid tani ang wet market kay amo gid na ang sentro kang higko,” said Deliarte.

During the committee hearing on the state of public markets, representatives from Iloilo Terminal Market and Central Market explained the problems besetting their respective areas.

According to Deliarte, their problem on sanitation is rooted in the wet section, especially the fish section.

“Ang pinakalaw-ay nga sentro ang isdaan gid kay dira gid ang problema sa drainage. May mga nagtuhaw nga pwesto nga naga-dugang sa problema sang drainage. Wala sangelevation amo na nga ang tubig ga-stagnant. Indi man maayo ang pag-plastar sang mga pwesto,” he said.

He added that the lack of sectioning of stalls and the narrow pathways for customers add to the problem of sanitation.

City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) head Noel Hechanova lamented the crowded stalls in the Terminal Market.

“Crowded ang markets kay ang ga-supply sang mga food products gadugang man sa traffic sa sulod sang alleys. Ang kanal ginaubra man nga basurahan kag other than selling, ginahimo sang iban nga vendors ang ila stalls nga boarding house,” Hechanova said.

Lourdes Cordon, a representative of the Iloilo Central Market, expressed their concerns on the drainage and roof, especially during rainy season.

“Ang drainage wala ga-function kag every time mag-ulan naga-ilig ang tubig kay wala makay-o ang roof,” Cordon said.

She also insisted on prioritizing the rehabilitation of the wet section of the market to solve the drainage woes.

Meanwhile, Mae Puerto of the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) reported that a P5-million budget was set aside for the rehabilitation of Central Market.

“Last Friday, gin-survey na namon and ang priority is roof and drainage and kun may sobra i-elevate ang fish section. Gina-ubrahan na lang namon sang plano and program of works,” Puerto said.

For the Terminal Market, Puerto mentioned that a P6-million partial rehabilitation is ongoing for the roofing, fish section, and partial alley.

But she admitted that there is still no budget for the drainage rehabilitation.

“Naga-ubra gid kam budget proposal for the improvement and rehabilitation of markets pero kung ano ang ma-approve nga budget, amo lang na amon gina-implement,” she explained.

During the committee hearing, the council also supported Councilor Joshua Lim’s proposal to installing security cameras, audio and paging systems at different public markets.

According to Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, the proposal would help monitor the operations in the markets and can serve as documentary evidence.

Last August 17, 2018 Assistant City Engineer Karl Quimsing told the city council that three major markets must be demolished because rehabilitation is insufficient.

Quimsing noted that the rehabilitation of the markets is just a band-aid solution which will not make public markets compete with malls.

But Puerto disagreed saying that renovating the Central Market would be enough to solve its pressing concerns.

Deliarte supported Puerto saying it would be more conducive to rehabilitate the wet markets.

“Mas conducive kung unahon ang wet market kay gamay lang para gamay lng apektado. Kay kung i-rehab ta ti bilog syempre ma apektuhan ang tanan nga karsada,” he said.

Jose Ariel Castañeda, Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) head, presented an increase in fines on persons who violate rules on the cleanliness of markets.

“From 2016-2017, may ara kita nga P400,000 nga sa fines. For 2018, running P1 million. As far as the particular fine is concerned, gina-tinguhaan gid namon ang consistency sa paglab-ot sang cleanliness and sanitation sa markets. We also have drastically reduced dwellings inside the markets nga ginahimo boarding houses,” Castañeda said.

CHAOTIC

Hechanova said that the first step to improve the status of the public markets in Iloilo city is to put order on its operations.

“Ang pag-palimpyo sang merkado nangin responsibilidad sang CENRO pero butangan gid una order ang mga vendors. Damo ta operations pero hindi ta ma-implement maayo becausewala sang public order,” he said.

Councilor Mandrie Malabor said that the vendors need to cooperate in maintaining the cleanliness of the markets.

“Kung i-rehab man gyapon naton ang market, kung ang attitude sang aton vendors amo gyapon, amo man na gyapon matabo,” he said.

Deliarte said that only 50% of the vendors follow the rules and regulations.

“Budlay i-impose ang discipline, ang problema kung pahalinon mabalik gyapon. Kinanglan may official mabantay kay kung kami lang hindi man namon ma-control,” he said.

He added that the lack of sectioning and proper division of stalls in the Terminal Market add up to the turmoil and disorderliness among the vendors.

Cordon also cited the lack of discipline of the vendors and the need for inspectors to obligate them to follow the rules.

Castañeda explained that the operations of different taskforces improved orderliness in the markets.

“When we started the operations, we have tremendously improved on the aspect of discipline on the markets. We have drastically reduced dwellings inside the markets nga ginahimoboarding houses,” Castañeda noted.

He added that aside from multitask force operations, they also have apprehensions relative to the anti-littering ordinance.

Assistant City Engineer Karl Quimsing there should be a political will as regards the operations of public markets.

To aid in the sanitation and disorderliness, Quimsing said ordinances on the management of markets must be implemented.

“We have a lot of ordinances and implementing it is the right to do. It should be fair and square. It should be a collaborative effort and everybody has to help, not only LEEO and the City Engineer’s Office but including the stall owners who are renting the area to be responsible enough to throw their garbage in a proper place,” he added.

Councilor Joshua Alim also called for the cooperation of vendors to improve the status of the public markets.

“Aside from sanitation our problem is order. The city government cannot do this alone we need the support from vendors,” he said.

Hechanova urged the vendors to be responsible of their stalls and to make sure to clean their area every day.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian

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