The Auxiliary Services Unit held a dialogue with some vendors from the San Pedro Square at the Osmeña Park on Wednesday.
This, after the unit received complaints from a few merchants who reportedly refuse to temporarily suspend their business activities this weekend. Vendors along San Pedro Street, particularly those situated on Bolton Street, were asked to refrain from selling their goods and wares on Saturday (June 18) and Sunday (June 19) to make way for the estimated 25, 000 people who will be attending the oath-taking of Vice President-elect Mayor Sara Duterte.
ASU Head Paul Bermejo, in an interview with the City Information Office Wednesday, said that the vendors who refused to obey the directive erroneously assumed that the ASU meant to permanently shut down their business activities. He pacified the complainants by clarifying that the unit had no intention of suspending their activities for good. The ASU Head told the complainants they can instead move to another area for the weekend, just until the inauguration is finished.
“Wala sila ginabawalan maninda. Mao lang na; ako lang ginaklaro na siya. Pero kadtong duol na sa stage, labi na ning naa sa may Unitop og Banco Filipino, ato ning ipasara temporarily hangtod lang mahuman ang oath-taking ni Mayor Inday. Or pwede man sila mubalhin sa ubang area (They are not barred from ever selling. I want to make that clear. But those near the stage, especially the ones near Unitop and Banco Filipino, we have to close them temporarily until the completion of Mayor Inday’s oath-taking),” Bermejo explained.
According to the ASU Head, the directive to halt the activities of vendors around San Pedro Square was spurred by security concerns and spatial management issues for the open event that is estimated to draw a crowd of 25,000. “Number one is security reasons… Kung daghan og tao kay ila na gyud iirog ang ilang paninda. Pwede didto lang sila sa may Crooker Road, or didto sa San Pedro Square sa gawas (Number one is security reasons … When it becomes crowded, they will have to move their wares),” Bermejo said.
In a press conference Wednesday, the head of the Davao Public Safety and Security Command Center Lt. Col. Angel Sumagaysay said that vendors will be given designated areas near San Pedro Square wherein they can display their products.
There are approximately 600 vendors identified and acknowledged by the ASU. However, Bermejo said that this number has since ballooned with the addition of new vendors that were not given explicit permission to sell in the area by the ASU.
“Na-identify na namo na sila sa una pero nanaghan na pud sila karon … Ang na-estimate namo sa sulod sa San Pedro square sobra na sila six hundred (We have identified them before but their numbers have increased since … We estimated the number of vendors within San Pedro Square to be more than 600),” he added.
The dialogue ended peacefully with all the complaints resolved. The vendors were finally convinced after they were assured that they can continue their usual activities after the oath-taking. CIO
