‘Ukay-ukay’ banned from city plazas

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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, October 10, 2017
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ILOILO City – Public plazas are off-limits to ukay-ukay.

After yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony in front of city hall, Acting Mayor Jose Espinosa III announced this “general rule” on the use of public plazas.

He bared this new city government policy three days after ordering the demolition of ukay-ukay stalls at Jaro Plaza.

He then warned ukay-ukay traders currently operating at the public plaza of Mandurriao district that they would be next.

“Palimpyuhan ta na. Pasudlan ta na sang street sweepers,” said Espinosa.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) unanimously approved a resolution last week calling on concerned city hall department heads and offices to convene and discuss the use of public plazas such as City Administrator Hernando Galvez, Public Safety and Transportation Management Office head Jeck Conlu, Task Force on Anti-Squatting and Illegal Structures chief Roberto Dumanil, City Engineer Roberto Divinagracia, and Social Services Unit head Zellah Gil.

“Once and for all, we have to decide. Every year bala indi nila pagsaradhan ang plaza?” asked Councilor Joshua Alim.

According to Espinosa yesterday, he would be meeting with the SP and concerned city government department heads.

“Basta ara sa mga plaza, wala na ukay-ukay,” he stressed.

Friday last week, Espinosa issued an executive order directing the Task Force on Anti-Squatting and Illegal Structures to tear down ukay-ukay stalls at Jaro Plaza a day after discovering that these were illegally tapping electricity from the city government’s power lines.

Ukay-ukay was not contemplated in the permit issued to the Iloilo City Association of Community Elders (ICACE), Inc. to use Jaro Plaza for their observance of the Elderly Filipino Week, he added.

Regarding the ukay-ukay at Mandurriao plaza, on the other hand, Espinosa gave this advice: “Kun ako sa ila, panghimos na daan.”

In removing ukay-ukay stalls from Jaro Plaza, Espinosa cited flagrant violations of Republic Act 4653 (An Act to Safeguard the Health of the People and Maintain the Dignity of the Nation by Declaring it a National Policy to Prohibit the Commercial Importation of Textile Articles Commonly known as Used Clothing and Rags) and Republic Act 7832 (Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines / Materials Pilferage Act of 1994).

Councilor Alim warned against the closure of Jaro and Mandurriao district plazas for income-generating activities.

This early stalls were again being constructed in these plazas, according to Alim, even if Mandurriao’s district fiesta was still a month away (November) while Jaro’s would be on February 2018 yet.

He reminded colleagues of the resolution they unanimously passed disallowing the closure of public plazas.

“Ang mga plaza himuon naman nila bulogasan. Plazas are beyond the commerce of man,” stressed Alim, citing the Local Government Code which prohibits the closure of public plazas except for some occasions but that the closure must not be more than three days./PN
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