TACLOBAN CITY — To ease congestion in the town center and help small vendors earn during the peak holiday season, the local government unit of Catarman has opened designated areas inside the Catarman Public Market to ambulant fruit vendors free of charge from December 22 to 31.
The arrangement, agreed upon during a meeting between fruit vendors and the Catarman Market Committee, bars pushcart and ambulant fruit vendors from selling along roads in Poblacion Catarman during the Christmas period. Instead, vendors will be accommodated within the public market to promote order, safety, and convenience for both sellers and shoppers.
The meeting was led by Mayor Dianne Rosales and attended by Market Committee members, including MPOSO Chief Atty. Harold Horcasitas, Local Economic Enterprise (LEE) head Dr. Arlan Ong, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) head Engr. Jay-r Lim, Architect Rafael Villegas, Engr. Clint Opeña, Tina Salazar, and PSSG Jestoni Bacolod.
Under the approved plan, two rows of temporary fruit stalls will be installed along the road between Market Buildings 1 and 2. Each stall will have a width of 1.5 meters, with a half-meter space between stalls. Additional vending spaces will be provided behind the Rayhak Building, located outside the main market area.
A total of 68 slots have been allocated for ambulant fruit vendors. Vendors will be responsible for building their own temporary stalls and, consistent with previous Christmas seasons, will not be charged any rental fees for the duration of the program.
Mayor Rosales said the initiative is part of the local government’s effort to support small-scale vendors while ensuring orderly market operations during the holidays. She also approved the request of regular tenants in the vegetable section to extend their selling areas up to the stairways to better accommodate fruit displays.
Only ambulant fruit vendors who are residents of Catarman are eligible to participate in the program.
To ensure cleanliness, a garbage truck from the MENRO will be stationed at the market throughout the period, with vendors required to dispose of their waste daily. Mayor Rosales stressed that the market should be cleared of garbage by January 1, 2026, warning that vendors who fail to comply with the rules may be blacklisted and barred from participating in future holiday market programs.
Mayor Rosales personally supervised the raffle draw to determine the assigned stall numbers for the participating ambulant fruit vendors.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
