MANILA -- Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on Thursday said the city government will now organize street vendors, who are often blamed for garbage and traffic congestion in the capital.
The mayor said private organizers demand P350 a day from vendors, higher than the P20 that they should give to the city government.
"Siyudad na po ang organizer, hindi na po indibidwal... Pipilitin naming mapagbigyan sila, pero 'wag naman po masyadong dumami," he said.
(The city will now be the organizer instead of private individuals... We will try to accommodate them, but we wish that they would not increase.)
Moreno said the city government will not allow non-Manila residents to sell their wares on the streets.
He said he will also coordinate with the national government to permanently relocate vendors to an area of the Philippine National Railways line that is no longer in use.
If this plan does not push through, he said he will also coordinate with the environment department about possibly building a structure on creeks, where vendors can stay.
Moreno said he personally asked vendors on Wednesday to vacate Recto Avenue and Juan Luna Street, and instead stay at the sidewalks of Ylaya, Zamora, Carmen Planas, Sto. Cristo and Jaboneros streets, among others.
Earlier this week, Moreno also claimed that previous administrations may have benefited from bribes from the operations of illegal vendors in the bustling thrift market in Divisoria district.