THE ANCILLARY Services Unit (ASU) reminded peddlers and hawkers that selling on sidewalks is prohibited and their products will be confiscated.
ASU chief Paul Bermejo reiterated this after the video of a demolition team confiscating the items of the peddler was posted by a netizen and went viral on social media.
In the video, the peddler resists the demolition team from taking his products, however, he is not successful in defending it as the team insists on doing so. The event occurred fronting the new Agdao public market.
As of this writing, the video has gained 6.1 million views, 77K reactions, and 68K shares.
Bermejo said peddlers and hawkers are prohibited on sidewalks as they obstruct pedestrians and motorists.
“They can claim their products back, provided that they sign an affidavit of undertaking and pledge not to vend on sidewalks again,” he said.
Councilor Edgar Ibuyan Jr. passed a resolution on the 20th City Council’s regular session on March 22, requesting the City Economic Enterprise to allow the variety section to sell vegetables and vice versa to address profit loss.
Ibuyan said peddlers and hawkers are one of the problems cited by the vendors as contributors to their income loss as people tend to buy from them rather than go to the market.
“Marketgoers prefer to buy from these peddlers given they are readily available on the sidewalk outside the market, and they only pay P10 per day compared to the market vendors who pay approximately P200 daily,” Ibuyan said.
He added this is not only a problem in Agdao but in all the public markets in the city and, hence should not be lenient towards the peddlers as it affects the legitimate sellers.
The official also raised alarm over the quality and sanitation of products the peddlers sell as they are out of the control of the City Agriculturist Office and the city Veterinarian’s Office.
CEE market supervisor Gerardo Castillo said the City Transport and Traffic Management Office will implement a traffic management scheme near the market.
He added the Ancillary Services Unit continuously conducts clearing out operations of peddlers along the public market to protect the legitimate public market vendors.
Castillo noted that during the construction of the new public market, the peddlers in Lapu Lapu, Aquino, and Palawan were cleared out.
Article 11 Section 364 of the 2017 Davao City Revenue Code prohibits peddlers or hawkers in public markets and their surroundings within a radius of 200 meters.
