Two markets
TWO public markets that have more than a casual bearing on the quality of my life have been headlined recently as marked for major improvement. These are the Tabunok market which, as I live nearby, I wish I could patronize more and Barili's market where I regularly go for my favorite barongoy and lumyagan, both staples of my childhood in that town.
This bit of good news naturally gladdened me. So before more important issues affecting more people overtake this development (as the Sona just did), I thought I would toss in some ten centavos worth of comment.
The design published of the Tabunok market was of a one story sprawling structure which, I hope I am right in presuming, would be big enough to accommodate all vendors including those who now spill over to the sidewalks and on to the roads, effectively congesting the area and making the trek through it a virtual survival run.
But I wonder if the overall design includes ample parking space for vehicles (of customers, vendors, suppliers, etc.) and a suitable terminal for the myriads of multicabs, tricycles and trisikads that have been occupying and creating chaos in both Lagtang road and N. Bacalso Ave. It's a no-brainer that the chaos can only be solved if vendors, public utility and customer vehicles are kept off those two roads that border two sides of the market.
The wet (fish) section of Tabunok market is also plagued with drainage and trash disposal problems. I can only hope sanitation has also been factored into the planning as should be the case for all markets.
No design was published of the Barili market but the drainage problem was specifically targeted for a solution. This is the most obvious cause of the unsanitary conditions of its wet market section. It's hard to believe that former officials, some of whom are in the medical profession, could tolerate the terribly unsanitary conditions of the market. Such, however, has been my attachment to barongoy and lumyagan that I was willing to endure the stink even as my complaints routinely fell on deaf official ears.
Needless to say, the public toilets in the market have also been an insult to the people of Barili. Barili public officials completely neglected this and carried on as if the market was something to be proud of when in fact it is much closer to something they should be ashamed of. I am so glad Mayor Marlon Garcia has decided to do something about it.
It's time these two structural insults to people's dignity are replaced with well-planned markets that mirror instead respect and sensitivity to people's needs. The people of Talisay and Barili have long deserved more and better service than what so far they have been getting from their public officials.