QC gov’t threatens closure of markets

The Quezon City government said it will have no recourse but to apply the full force of the law and close down erring Balintawak market owners who continue to defy the city’s sanitation, environmental and building code regulations.

City Administrator Aldrin Cuna said the city government is ready to assist the Balintawak market owners to enable them to correct their deficiencies and comply with the city’s standard regulations.

“We have to maintain law and order in the Balintawak area. But such responsibility does not rest solely on the government,” Cuna said.

Engr. Isagani Versoza, a QC building official, declared that four of the eight private markets in the Balintawak area are structural hazards that endanger the lives of the public.

He identified the structural hazards as Cloverleaf Market, Riverview Market 1, Riverview Market 2 and MC Market.

Versoza had given the owners and administrators of these establishments 60 days to retrofit their structures to avoid recommending their permanent closure.

Earlier, the city’s market development and administration department (MDAD) has recommended the closure of the eight privately-owned markets in the Balintawak area for reportedly operating without the necessary regulatory requirements.

The requirements include environmental and sanitation certificates, business permits and other requirements pertinent documents to conduct legitimate market operations.

A composite team composed of market, health, waste management and building officials has already been created by Mayor Herbert Bautista to validate the compliance of said establishments in terms of sanitation and hygiene, cleanliness, waste disposal and integrity and safety of structures.

“Quezon City has the right to recommend the closure of these markets since they are operating without the necessary regulatory permits,” said market development and administration department officer-in-charge Malou Arrieta.

Arrieta said the MDAD has already issued “cease and desist orders’’ to the erring markets owners last year informing them of their repeated violations.

However, despite the notice issued to them by the city they still continued to operate.

For their part, the Balintawak market owners and administrators vowed to comply with the city’s regulatory requirements to avoid their closure.