BAGUIO CITY October 13 – Members of the city council are divided on the changes that will be introduced to the city government’s existing trade fair ordinance that would effectively and efficiently contribute in regulating the conduct of trade fairs in the different parts of the city.
Majority of the councillors decided to defer action on the report of the committee on laws giving due course to the proposed amendments to the trade fair ordinance to allow the conduct of trade fairs during the holding of institutionalized events in the city.
However, councillors could not get their acts together on what would be the institutionalized events of the city where trade fairs will be allowed.
Councilor Elaine D. Sembrano raised the observation of legitimate businessmen in the market where they claimed that the conduct of such fairs are in direct competition with them who are religiously paying their taxes to the local government, thus, the city government should ensure that priority to sell their products in the trade fairs should be given to the market vendors for them to generate added income for their families.
For his part, Councilor Peter Fianza raised the concern why the city council decided to remove the preference given to local traders in the conduct of trade fairs thereby opening the same to any moneyed individual or group who can afford to bankroll the conduct of trade fairs in private and public places.
Councilor Richard Cariño claimed the city council raised stiff opposition over the conduct of an obvious year-round trade fair in a private property along Harrison road but nothing happened over their clamor to stop the conduct of such activity when the same was a blatant trade fair in defiance of the existence trade fair ordinance.
Councilor Elmer Datuin said it is high time for the council to decide on whether or not to allow the conduct of trade fairs during institutionalized events of the city government like the Panagbenga and other government-supported and private sector-led crowd drawing events so that the local government will not be giving false hopes to the organizers of such events.
The council has yet to decide on whether or not to conduct a public hearing relative to the conduct of trade fairs during institutionalized events of the city to ascertain the pulse of the people whether or not they are supportive of the move to manned the trade fair ordinance to accommodate the proposal to allow trade fairs during specific institutionalized events of the city.
The council deferred action on the proposal awaiting the final recommendation of the committee on laws on what would be the identified city institutionalized events where trade fairs will be allowed.
