MMDA ‘evicts’ sidewalk vendors from Baclaran Church area

After giving a long Christmas reprieve, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority "evicted" sidewalk vendors near the Baclaran Church in southern Metro Manila early Friday. Radio dzBB's Roland Bola reported teams from the MMDA "persuaded" the vendors to leave their stalls, some of which the MMDA teams helped dismantle. The report said there was no violent resistance from the vendors, who were selling various items from clothes to mobile phone accessories. However, the report said the vendors left much garbage behind. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino earlier ordered the deployment of at least 400 personnel as early as 4 a.m. along Redemptorist Street near the Redemptorist Church. "We have been very lenient during the Christmas season but now their presence in the sidewalks and roadways are being felt due to worsening traffic congestion," Tolentino said in an article on the MMDA website Thursday. Earlier this week, the MMDA evicted vendors from the corner of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Taft Avenue in the Balintawak area. For Friday's operation, the MMDA said it asked for at least 200 policemen from the Metro Manila police as security backup. The MMDA sidewalk clearing team included personnel from the Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG) and Roadway Clearing Operations Group (RCOG), as well as from the Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) and Rescue Unit. MMDA Deputy Chairman Alex Cabanilla had met with Parañaque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. Tuesday to coordinate the clearing drive. MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez also met with the vendors' associations in Baclaran last Wednesday to point out the agency's objectives in clearing the sidewalks and roadways, and the need for the vendors to have a proper place to sell their goods. Tolentino said the MMDA recognizes the sidewalk vendors' livelihood as he ordered the MMDA personnel to respect the vendors' rights at all times. He said the anti-sidewalk vendor operatives of the MMDA will only be on the defensive throughout the clearing operations. Once cleared of obstructions, the MMDA intends to put up steel fences along the sidewalks to prevent vendors from returning. "This is a major clearing operation and if successful, it will serve as the template for all our sidewalk clearing operations in the future," Tolentino said. — LBG, GMANews.TV