MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno said yesterday three shifts of sidewalk clearing personnel have been posted in the area since last week. Several of them are in plainclothes, as part of their jobs is to identify the people behind the syndicates allegedly protecting the vendors, Nacianceno said in a phone interview. He warned that the MMDA would go after these syndicates.
"We will be looking for these people and we will find them," he said.
Nacianceno said the MMDA has received reports that these syndicates have armed their people with knives, especially during the intensified sidewalk clearing operations last week. As part of the protection, illegal vendors are reportedly tipped off by syndicate members with calls or text messages on the cellphone, allowing them to get out of the area before the MMDA arrives, Nacianceno said.
"It’s a cat-and-mouse game. We are able to remove the vendors and by and large, traffic is a bit better. People are able to move without obstructions," he said.
While the MMDA claims success in clearing Baclaran, the Parañaque City government itself has admitted difficulty in removing the vendors.
In an interview late last week, City Mayor Joey Marquez said the barangay officials and police are doing their job but the sheer size of the area and the volume of sidewalk vendors are simply overwhelming. When asked for comment, Nacianceno said he is not sure if the local government is capable of posting people on a 24-hour basis like the MMDA just to keep Baclaran vendor-free.
An estimated 5,000 vendors occupy Taft Avenue Extension, the vicinity of the Redemptorist Church and Quirino Avenue. Heavy traffic has been a way of life in these areas primarily because the vendors have practically turned the streets into markets. Even with the clearing operations, the vendors remained defiant and kept on coming back to the streets.