• THERESA MAE DULMAN
A verbal altercation between a person with disability (PWD) fish vendor and members of the City Legal Office (CLO) enforcement team went viral on social media following a clearing operation along Amelia Street in the area of the Libertad Public Market in Bacolod.
Reports and footage circulating online showed city enforcers issuing warnings to vendors along the street, advising them to pack up their goods and clear the roadside to facilitate the smooth traffic and keep public walkways passable.
Witnesses noted that the fish vendor hid the goods when enforcement personnel passed by, and then returned to selling fish.
The situation escalated when CLO personnel conducted a follow-up sweep in the area and caught the vendor displaying his goods anew at the curbside.
CLO Enforcement Team leader Levy Pangue said the vendor cites poverty and disability as excuses.
He explained that their intention was simply for the vendor to sell within a designated spot without setting up tables along the street, pointing out that waste and dirty water were being dumped in the area.
He added Aug. 28 that the vendor went to their office, along with his wife, to apologize.
“The (CLO personnel) have been re-oriented in implementing market rules with maximum tolerance, because that is really our standard in the City Legal Office, to ensure that service to the public continues,” he said. | TMD
