Vendors’ leader has an ax to grind, says CEED manager

By NITZ ARANCON
and LITO RULONA
Correspondents

THE manager of the City Economic Enterprise Department (CEED) has strongly denied accusations that he and his subordinates have been selling rights to public market stalls even as he accused the leader of organized vendors of making up stories of corruption as a way of getting back at him and his department.

CEED manager Peter Abejuela said the allegation of United Market Vendors Association (Umva) president Carmencita Borja that he and at least two CEED employees were selling rights to stalls for P25 thousand to P50 thousand each was a lie.
Two CEED employees––Edna Hangao and Rico Pajo––were also named in the complaints.

Abejuela said Borja has an ax to grind against the CEED because it closed down her beauty parlor at the second level of Cogon market for violation of the tax code, and of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code.

He said Borja has not paid her business taxes, rent, and failed to comply with other city hall rules.Borja also circumvented a city hall rule by maintaining two stalls for years, Abejuela said. He said this was done by registering a second stall under the name of one of her workers.

“Ang atong ordinansa nag-ingon nga walay stall holder sa merkado nga manag-iya sa duha ka stall. Usa ra gyud. Pero ang iya ni Borja duha ka puwesto––Stall nos. 66 and 67,” Abejuela said.

He said Borja also resented that he brought the matter to the attention of the City Legal Office after she allegedly defied a closure order issued by Mayor Oscar Moreno by re-opening the establishment again.

“She wanted to get back at me,” he said.
Borja and some other vendors have written to Moreno and the city council to complain about the alleged illegal sale of stall rights in the city’s public markets.

Borja, for her part, said more vendors have come out in the open after this paper reported about her complaint. “Daghan na karon ang nanawag kanako nga hasta sila gikilkilan sa taga-CEED,” she said.

Meanwhile, councilors are set on starting an investigation into the alleged market anomaly. Councilor Dometillo Acenas Jr., chairman of the city council’s committee on economic enterprise, said he has called for a meeting tomorrow to tackle the complaints, and look into the allegations of Borja and her group.

“Serious ang ilang allegations og dili pud pwede nato nga pasagdan,” Acenas said. He confirmed that his committee received copies of the complaints.

Acenas said the committee would also look into claims that CEED and finance department personnel illegally collected at least P5 thousand from at least 77 market vendors for the processing of business permits since last year.

“Dako ang ilang nahatag nga kuwarta gipakapinan pa gani sa uban para pang-snack apan nawala,” Acenas said. Councilor Alexander Dacer, a committee member, said all the parties concerned would be invited so they could give their statements and replies to accusations.

“Kinahanglan dali-on kini nga investigation because a lot of information about problems concerning vendors have been coming in. We will follow the saying that ‘those who have less in life should have more in laws,’” Dacer said.