Vendors vent concerns
during Market Code talk
Market vendors vented their years-long grievances during the
public hearing turned open forum at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Session Hall on
August 17.
The SP Committee on Market and Abattoir called the public
hearing for the proposed Market Code of the City.
With SP Members Victoriana Cabili, Fleur de Lis Mascuñana,
Hernan Antonio and Criston Carmona, Vice-Mayor Edgardo Quisumbing, City
Treasurer Amy Grace Bolivar, and Public Market and Slaughterhouse Department
Head Stella Mamac in attendance, vendors expressed their dismay over the system
of collecting surrender fee from business owners who closed their stores and,
in their absence, from new business owners who want to open stores in abandoned
booths.
Pedro pays Juan’s debt
Elizabeth Anonas-Decipulo complained that when she assumed the
booth her sister abandoned in November 2011, Cristina "Titoy" Combate
made her pay P 13,000 as surrender fee and as tax for her sister's gross sales
for the last quarter of 2011 which had not been paid.
Bolivar however argued that the City Revenue Code provides for
this procedure to prevent avoidance of paying business taxes through simulation
by closing a store and renewing the business license.
"This is to safeguard the city's income," Bolivar
said during an interview with NRWP after the hearing.
The city treasurer added that it has been the practice in
markets that stall owners sell their rights to occupy and sell in a booth to
another business owner to earn profits without paying the proper amount of
business tax.
She advises new business owners to make sure that the booth or
stall they want to rent at the market is cleared of all obligations from the
CTO before getting a business license.
The SP committee and the city treasurer insisted that market
vendors must report should they decide to close their business.
Uniforms, IDs
Another important point of discussion was the IDs and uniforms
for casual ticket collectors and vendors. The Market Code requires all casual
or regular inspectors to wear IDs and uniforms while performing their duties at
the market so they will be easily identified. But Mamac refutes that the casual
workers could not afford to buy uniform shirts because their meager wages are
not even enough for daily expenses.
"Kung ang siyudad mo-provide ug uniform, mas maayo.
Pero wala nako gipugos nga mag-uniform sila kay sa kalisod sa panahon karon."
Mamac explained.
The PMSD head said that name tag-IDs can be easily provided for
by the office but they couldn't afford to shoulder lamination costs.
On the side of the vendors, they vehemently opposed the
suggestion that they too should wear IDs. They have agreed that IDs only mean
additional expenses.
Representative
Plea of Mamac and the vendors to include a representative of
the vendors in the Public Market Committee had also not been carried out. While
Mamac insisted that the previous ordinance for the management of the market
requires that a vendor-representative seat in the committee, the SP members
contend that this is not necessary.
Antonio argued and refused to bend to the vendors' plea. He
said that market committee is only a policy-making body that no longer needs a
representative from the vendors.
No effect
Several other suggestions had been left unresolved and not
carried as additions to the Code except for the suggestions of Mamac to
prohibit the use of colored lights in the meat and fish sections. Other
prohibitions which are to be added come from the directives of the Department
of Trade and Industry to safe guard the interest of consumers.
No comments:
Post a Comment