Jan . 23 - 28 , 2017 Ormoc terminal vendors
By Jean Justimbaste
Ormoc City - “ Wala ’ y kasigurohan ” were the words uttered by members of the Ormoc Bus and Jeepney Terminal Vendors Association ( BJTVA ) after a dialogue with City Administrator Vincent L . Emnas , January 23 , 2017 at his city hall office .
Supported by two partylist groups SANLAKAS and Partido Lakas ng Masa , ninety-four members of the BJTVA rallied at the Ormoc city hall the same day asking for a dialogue with City Administrator Vincent Emnas .
BJTVA Secretary Nenita Campos , 48 , and a mother of five said that 40 vendor families of the newly constructed stalls inside the jeepney terminal and 54 inside the bus terminal are no longer allowed to use the stalls as these are now open to raffle . There are close to 300 applicants to the newly opened stalls , she added .
Most of these vendors are women whose husbands are jobless and are helping them in vending . Campos has two of her children already finished college and are now licensed electrical and mechanical engineers just from vending . The stall that she is using right now is actually owned by her daughter who is a single mother and has stopped vending temporarily to attend to her baby .
At the dialogue where 13 women and 6 men of the organization BJTVA were present , Emnas listened to the statement read by Gechem P . Albarico , president of BJTVA addressed to
Mayor Richard Gomez . The statement is asking that the mayor prioritize the vendors who have “ stalls ” inside the jeepney and bus terminals even before typhoon Yolanda struck on November 8 , 2013 .
The organization ’ s second concern is their non-acceptance of the “ draw-by-lot ” scheme of the city since it has become moot and academic as there are already vendors occupying in these stalls . They are , however , asking assistance in the processing of business papers for them to become licensed vendors of the two areas .
The third concern in their statement is for the city government to create a program for the informal sector like the vendors , barkers , porters and drivers to guarantee their rights and dignity .
To all these , Emnas said that he has no knowledge as to the legitimacy of their being the vendors in these areas as the previous administration of Mayor Ondo Codilla did not turn over anything to them . No contracts were signed by the previous mayor to prove it , his questioning the term “ lehitimong vendors ” that the organization is espousing . He does not believe that they are “ legitimate .”
Albarico for his part argued that before typhoon Yolanda they were already vending in the two transport terminals , they are not selling illegal goods and this is their only means of livelihood . He added that after the construction of the new stalls inside the two terminal buildings , they were called to the office of Engr . Arthur C . Arcuino , the Market and Terminal Administrator and lectured them on
Vanguard
No assurance from city hall
Ormoc terminal vendors in face-to-face dialogue with city representatives City Administrator Vincent Emnas and City Councilor Rolando Villacensio and the vendors representatives : No assurance that they will no be replaced .
Ormoc City Administrator Vincent Emnas
the “ House Rules Governing the Use of Stalls at Bus and Jeepney Terminals ” and they were all made to sign to have knowledge of the rules which they handed to Emnas .
To this Emnas retorted “ ginamit lang kayo sa pulitika ” because the rules document was not signed by the previous mayor .
Albarico said they had no idea they were only used politically . At one point , Emnas said that the city has no obligation to provide them jobs , after a dialogue participant expressed apprehension that they will have no income if they are removed from their stalls .
After several minutes of haggling , Emnas told the group that Mayor Gomez halted the awarding of the readied 44 contracts for the stalls and ordered that the issue be brought back to the discussion table , requesting the sanggunian to review the ordinance governing vending inside the transport terminals .
With this information , still the vendors said : “ Wala ’ y kasigurohan .”#
Vendors fear displacement
By Jun Tarroza
Ormoc City - Demolition threats and an open-to-all policy of the Richard Gomez administration has triggered the protest action of 94 vendors outside perimeter fence of the Ormoc City Hall on Monday , last week .
Gechem Albarico , president of the Ormoc Bus and Jeepney Terminal Vendors ’ Ass . ( OBJVA ), said rumors have been floating every week from seven-month Gomez administration among its members that they will be demolished or replaced by new vendors . He said they will follow whatever law the mayor has in mind to implement as long as their livelihood would not be affected .
He said the local government here has stopped ticketing them since July up to now , an ominous sign since they used to be collected P20 a day . He also said they had applied for business permits but these were not processed because of the plan to subject it to a raffle draw to give way for new occupants .
This policy is unfair since they were the legitimate vendors in the two terminals here , he said . He has been vending in the area for eight years until the previous administration put the ambulant vendors in stalls included in the reconstruction of the terminals flattened during Yolanda .
Albarico would gross from P200 to P800 a day from sales of softdrinks , bottled water , fruits , candies , etc .. He said his income has enabled four of his children to study in college and high school .
It was City Councilor Vincent Rama who approached the protesters during the rally , saying he respects the rights and grievance of the vendors . But he added that they will follow the prevailing local ordinance on the vending in the terminals that has been applied for over 20 years in the previous Codilla administrations .
Without specifying specific provision , he just told The Weekly Vanguard to read the ordinance . He said Mayor Gomez also wants to amend it .
To recall , the former Codilla administration has made a “ house rules governing the use of stalls at bus and jeepney terminals ” as “ temporary area to accommodate these ambulant vendors ,” addressing problem that arose after Yolanda . But these installations are being criticized by the media mouthpiece of the Gomez administrations .#
Landslide closes major road
MAASIN CITY , Southern Leyte ( PIA )– The heavy downpour over the past days in this province has triggered mudslides and rockslides that rendered a portion of the major highway unpassable since Monday last week .
The landslide occurred Monday noon in Kahupian village in Sogod town , just a few kilometers away from the tall Agas-Agas Bridge . The road section is a vital link from Luzon to Mindanao as part of the nautical highway ’ s eastern seaboard route .
According to District Engineer Ma . Margarita C . Junia , 300 to 700 cubic meters of rocks and mud covered the road and closed two lanes of the national road .
She said that the chief of the district office maintenance section ’ s target is to make the road passable within Tuesday , but work progress heavily depends on the weather condition .
With the road closure , Mindanao-bound buses and trucks have to pass through the longer route of Baybay City-Bato-Bontoc Road to get to Liloan or San Ricardo ports in Southern Leyte .
Meanwhile , in Camang village in San Ricardo town , a rockslide also partially closed a road section on Monday morning and as of Tues-
5
day noon , the road is passable to light vehicles only .
Another landslide also closed a highway in Olisihan village in Sogod town for hours . The road was cleared from debris early Tuesday morning yet .
It was learned that prior to this week ’ s landslide caused by low pressure area and tail end of a cold front , the DPWH in Southern Leyte has been stepping up preparations for the rainy season , especially that many areas in the province have been tagged as vulnerable to rockslides , mudslides .
Last year , the DPWH had set aside P50 million for slope protection in landslide-prone road sections , P20 million for drainage rehabilitation , and P27 million construction of flood control system in Maasin City .
The DPWH field office has also identified specific areas from Sogod town to San Ricardo town for prepositioning of heavy equipments for road clearing in the event of rainfall-induced landslides and rockslides .
For this year , the district office will pilot the P109 million project that would completely prevent rock falls and soil erosion , utilizing Swiss technology .#