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MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando
Antihero?
by Alicor Panao

No doubt, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando remains the most popular of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s recent appointments. As Marikina mayor he caught the nation’s imagination when he was able to transform his metropolis into the cleanest and most orderly of Metro Manila cities. Now the “hero” is once again receiving public attention in his recent campaign to rid the sidewalks of vendors and other obstructions.

“Vending on public property is a crime punishable with imprisonment,” said the former mayor who was known for his strict implementation of the law. Earlier, he called on the sidewalk vendors to rent the vacant stalls in markets as an alternative site for their trade. But the sidewalk vendors refused, saying they can ill afford the rentals.

Stern on its clearing operations, it did not take long for the MMDA to earn the resentment of urban poor groups, vendors, a number of people’s organizations, and even local officials and some members of Congress. All these, ironically, in an effort to provide a better traffic flow in the Metro.
“We are not criminals,” points out Metro Manila Vendors Association President Pedring Fadrigon, “ we are simply fighting for our livelihood.”
Iloilo representative Augusto Syjuco criticized Fernando’s “oppressive anti-vending policy” and urged him to resign.

In the course of its campaign, the MMDA has gone to the extent of pouring kerosene to the street vendors’ wares to discourage them from reoccupying the streets. The solon reportedly vowed to gather nine million signatures to oust Fernando from office should he continue to ignore the vendors’ demand for a “lenient” enforcement of the law. Bayan Muna Secretary General Nathaniel Santiago, on the other hand, calls the MMDA’s policy as “illegal, unjust and inhuman” and accused its chair of grave abuse of authority in its implementation.

Surprisingly, however, majority seems to be throwing their overwhelming support tor what Fernando is doing. A random text poll in one episode in “Debate,” for instance, showed 82% of its viewers supportive of Fernando’s campaign. A Peyups.com poll of students – supposedly the most vocal of demographic groupings – likewise produced a similar verdict, giving Fernando an 87.10% approval rating. Groups like the Federation of Regional Development Councils agree with Fernando that the clearing of sidewalks will optimize the use of existing roadways and decongest traffic in many areas of the metropolis. Metro Manila mayors also rallied behind the MMDA chair’s programs and hit some politicians who were taking advantage of the vendor issue to gain political mileage.

“The issue is clear,” said Metro Manila Mayor’s league spokesperson Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad of Pasay, “and it is all about the mayors, the vendors and the Metropolitan Development Authority.” “Politicans obviously riding on the issue would only complicate things,” warned the mayor.

Fernando’s logic is simple. The streets belong to the public and no one has the right to appropriate them for him/herself. Sidewalk stalls are obstructions so they have to be removed.

“And the sidewalks will be cleared of parked vehicles too,” the MMDA chair added, “but first things first.”

Some groups, however, equate Fernando’s campaign as a government-orchestrated battle of the rich against the poor. Urban poor groups backed by militants are reportedly gathering forces against Fernando who they regard as their common enemy.

“Our political divisions should not prevent us from moving toward our common goal, that is to stop Fernando’s ruthless policies against the poor,” said Don Pangan of Sanlakas in a newspaper report. They complain that they have nowehere else to go because rentals inside public markets are beyond their reach.

Groups like Sanlakas, Metro Manila Vendors Alliance, Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), the Urban Poor Associates and the Urban Poor Colloquium have agreed to stage regular but separate rallies until Fernando gives in to their demands.

But Fernando is not giving in to the pressure and has opted instead to demonstrate to the vendors that it is actually cheaper to do business inside public markets. “With rentals that range from only 29 to 50 pesos a day, according to Fernando, this is actually less than what illegal vendors are paying to extortionists like some corrupt policemen and baranggay officials.
Despite MMDA’s clearing drive, vendors obstinately return to the sidewalks to peddle their goods. This is driven not really by extreme poverty, said Fernando, but by the very dynamics of the market. The most accessible stalls are those near the streets, he explained, and the sidewalk vendors are making the most out of them for free.

Customers buy from the sidewalk vendors not only for convenience but also for cheaper goods. What people do not realize, said Fernando, is that they are being cheated in terms of quality and quantity of goods.

“Sidewalk vendors don’t just break the law,” reasoned Fernando, “they steal from legitimate market vendors who have licenses and are paying taxes.” They are also guilty of economic sabotage, according to Fernando. “Just imagine the man-hours lost, and the billions of pesos in business opportunities foregone because of traffic delayed congested streets and sidewalks.”

Danilo Arao, who teaches journalism at the UP College of Mass Communication is not questioning Fernando’s motives. He, however, is not convinced of the MMDA chair’s logic. “There is nothing wrong with telling them (sidewalk vendors) to look for alternative means of livelihood, but concrete options must be provided to them,” he emphasized. “The phenomenon of street vending, after all, is a sign of the growing underground economy and the lack of viable job opportunities for the people.”

Taking a similar tact, Urban Poor Associate Executive Director Denis Murphy asks, “Is it fair to implement laws that penalize the poor when the laws that would have provided solutions for them are not implemented?” He said that for every law forbidding poor families to stay in private or government lands illegally, there are laws, such as the Urban Development and Housing Act, that are not being pushed but clearly instruct local government officials to set aside land for the poor so that they will not resort to squatting. The problem, he said, cannot be solved through a selective application of the law but by a clear understanding of the issues from the poor person’s side.

“But even if all of them (sidewalk vendors) are poor,” wrote UP Economic Professor Solita Monsod in a column, “it is ridiculous to think that those they inconvenience are all non-poor.” Monsod lauds Fernando’s public approval rating as a heartening sign that people do not bring the anti poor charges against Fernando. “This indicates that more and more poverty is no longer accepted as an excuse for breaking the law,” said Monsod, “which means that we might be beginning to have a discerning rational public.”

All told, Bayani Fernando’s strong reform moves have certainly placed him in the limelight. But in a country notoriously known for soft takes on regulations, Fernando’s strict implementation of the law is in itself noteworthy.

For those still complaining, Pasay Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad offers this for the taking. “We should not leave everything to Fernando,” he proposed. “Instead, we should also do our part to ensure that our sidewalks would be free from illegal vendors and obstructions.” (Alicor Panao)

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Opinyon

A tribute to Prof. Nieves Epistola
(July 24, 1946-Sept 10, 2002)

Referendum
A political option for Mindanao
by Abhoud Syed Lingga

MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando
Antihero?
by Alicor Panao

Lies and realities in labor force surveys
by Danilo Arao

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Updated October 9, 2002
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