Fernando inaugurates Tondo public market today

MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando will inaugurate today a public mini-market for sidewalk vendors and storeowners in Vitas tenement area, Tondo, Manila.

Dubbed as the “Pamilihan ng Bayani,” Fernando said the new public mini-market will remove the vendors from the sidewalk. Aside from Fernando, officials of the city government, barangay and National Housing Authority and the leaders of the beneficiaries under the local people’s organizations in Tondo and Vitas Katuparan are expected to attend the inauguration to be held at 10 a.m. today.

“It is about time that vendors here at Vitas be given a market of their own, where they could do business and sell their wares without dirtying the surroundings and occupying the sidewalk and the roadway,” Fernando said.

Fernando said the new “Pamilihan ng Bayani” is located alongside the rows of Vitas tenement buildings in R-10 road and has 129 stalls and is provided with the necessary amenities, such as electricity and water supply, for the benefit of vendors and market goers.

The mini-market, which the MMDA constructed using its own equipment and personnel, is divided into five sections: meat, fish, dry, cooked food and fruits and vegetables. He ordered the construction of the Vitas market last March after observing that the residents have appropriated the sidewalks and built various makeshift stalls and other illegal structures, which were not only eyesores but also the cause of traffic in the area. He said the construction of the “Pamilihan ng Bayani,” was a result of a series of dialogues with the residents and barangay officials.

Fernando also said the walkway leading to the market be improved, by providing potable water and power supply.