Two Luneta vendors, Grace Tagoc and Sampaguita Layco, were arrested on January 17 by the Manila police for violating the Manila City Executive Order 004 or the city’s Zero Obstruction policy. They were selling their wares near Manila Hotel when they were accosted by police and brought to the nearby police station. The said order prohibits any structures that are deemed obstructions by the Manila city government led by Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Tagoc and Layco are both members of People’s Democratic Vendors and Hawker’s Alliance or PEDHVA. PEDHVA is a registered group of hawkers and vendors in Luneta and recognized by the National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC).
Earlier, Luneta vendors were informed of a memo released by NPDC on January 6. The memo gave a directive to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Presidential Security Group (PSG) to remove and clear all stalls of small vendors inside and around Luneta starting January 11. Food boxes, photographers’ laboratories and cafes were also ordered to close.
However, the memo signed by NPDC Executive Director Elizabeth Espino does not mention when the vendors will be allowed to return.
Kilusan para sa Disenteng Kabuhayan spokesperson Gerry Serue, present during Tagoc and Layco’s arrest, condemned the eviction and arrest of Luneta vendors. The arrested vendors have not been released as of this publishing.
“We are also longing to see the Pope, but our longing is being replaced by danger and dismay arising from government hostility and their attacks on our livelihood. Sadly, they are doing this in the name of the Pope,” said Serue.
The Kilusan para sa Disenteng Kabuhayan is an alliance formed by different vendors association and urban poor groups in Manila, including PEDHVA.
Establishments and offices surrounding Luneta are also ordered to halt operations starting January 16 until January 18. The order is “according to the security plans for the Holy Pope’s visit.”
The Pope will hold a mass on January 18 at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta where millions are expected to attend. The mass will be the last activity of the Pope in his 4-day Apostolic Trip in the Philippines.
Loss of meager income, an aftermath of pope security plan?
On January 15, Minda Compay, 59, set up her small cart with merchandise composed of biscuits, chips, candies, cigarettes, and bottled drinks near the Lapu-Lapu monument in Luneta. Only a few hours have passed when men wearing orange long sleeves came to forcibly evict them and confiscate their carts.
Since January 11, Compay and other Luneta vendors have insisted on returning to their stalls or looking for other place within the vicinity of Luneta.
“This is the only work I know. If I don’t work here for a day, what will we eat?” said Compay.
She shared that she has been a vendor in Luneta since 1975. This livelihood enabled her to send her children and grandchildren to school. She also gets to pay her house rent and utility bills from selling chips and bottled refreshments in Luneta.
“It is unjust for the government to forcibly evict vendors and leave them without livelihood. I doubt that Pope Francis will be happy to hear that many poor vendors lost their source of income in his name during his visit,” said Angeles Tubat, Chairperson of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY) in Manila.
Pending alternative livelihood for Luneta vendors
Mariano Casimiro of the NPDC’s Parks Trading Committee said that representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment and Department of Social Welfare and Development went to the NPDC’s office two weeks ago to ask for the list of vendors in Luneta. He said that these government agencies pledged to provide alternative livelihood for the vendors that will be affected by the clearing operations for the Pope’s visit. But as of Thursday, January 15, there are no updates about this.
The Pope arrived in the country on January 15.
Casimiro assured the vendors that they would be able to return to their usual vending spots as soon as the papal visit is over.
A livelihood program will also be offered to accredited vendors where 90 carts will be placed in six designated areas in Rizal Park, according to Casimiro. Vendors with assorted merchandise will pay P100 a day for the ‘permit fee’ and P50 for those with only one product.
Danny Depositar, president of PEDHVA, appeals to Pope Francis for the release of arrested vendors | video from Defend Job Philippines
Zero vending policy
Danny Depositar, president of PEDHVA, said that there is no verbal or written assurance from the NPDC that they will be allowed to return to their usual post.
PEDHVA also raises concerns on “taking the park administration’s word for it” for they have standing issues with the NPDC’s handling of the vendors. For one, PEDHVA has 128 members, a large majority of the vendors in Luneta, but only 20 were issued with regular IDs from the NPDC despite the association submitting a master list of their members and necessary documents.
Since 2012, members of PEDHVA has been struggling against the ‘Zero-Vending Policy’ implemented in Luneta by holding protest actions and dialogues with the NPDC and local government to insist on their right to establish a decent livelihood in the park’s premises.
Manila vendors’ message to Pope Francis
“If we were given the chance to have a dialog with Pope Francis, we would tell him the truth: that we poor vendors are being pushed aside by the authorities,” said Jerome Pagunsan.
Pagunsan is the chairman of Alyansa ng Manininda para sa Karapatan at Kabuhayan (ALMAKA), an alliance of vendors in Manila.
“President Aquino doesn’t want the Pope to see the true conditions suffered by our people,” Pagunsan added.
