BAGUIO CITY – Three proponents will present to the city government their designs on the tents for use by the night market vendors in their nightly operations during the executive-legislative meeting on Monday, September 23, 2019 at the City Hall Multipurpose Hall.
Two of the proponents of the uniform tent design for night market vendors comes from their ranks while another is a private proponent for the uniform design for the night market tents to be used by the over 1,000 night market vendors.
The presentation will serve as a basis for members of the City Council to decide on whether or not to pass a pending resolution for night market vendors adopt attractive and uniform tents purposely for beautification of the night market vending area, cover during inclement weather condition and for the security of the goods they sell in their designated slots in the night market vending area.
The City Council decided to defer action on the proposed resolution for the proponent to clarify numerous issues on the imposition of the requirement for night market vendors to use attractive and uniform tents in their vending areas.
Among the issues that cropped up during the deliberation of the proposed resolution include the notice from the public works department to the city government to relocate the night market operation as the same cannot be done on a national road like Harrison road, and this will entail an added expense to the city government for the required provision of added lighting in the area, and the put-up of the tents will mean the put-up of a semi-permanent structure which is prohibited in the area and it will be an added expense to the vendors.
The night market operation in the city started in 2006 along the concrete portion of the Baguio Athletic Bowl before it was transferred to a 500-meter portion of the Harrison road several years later where displaced ambulant vendors could pursue their trade.
The city government had been searching for a permanent site as a venue for the night market operations but the previously identified areas were not sufficient to accommodate the increasing number of night market vendors wanting to be actively involved in the nightly activity.
City officials admitted that through the years, the night market has become an added attraction not only for residents but also for visitors who want to enjoy the nightly activity which runs from 9 pm to the wee hours of the morning.
The night market operations brings into the city government coffers more than P1.4 million monthly in regulatory fees paid by the vendors wanting and that the same is being infused with the least infrastructure development being done in the area.
By Dexter A. See
