Commonwealth vendors stay defiant

Hundreds of vendors vowed to fight efforts by the Quezon City government to dismantle their stalls in the Philcoa area.

The defiant vendors, mostly belonging to the Metro Manila Vendors Association (MMVA), set up a human barricade on Friday to dramatize their opposition to the street clearing operation.

The offices of City Councilors Ranulfo Ludovica and Victor Ferrer Jr. have received complaints from pedestrians who said they were forced off the sidewalks occupied by the vendors’ stalls.

With the pedestrians taking to streets, traffic has been building up on Commonwealth Avenue and nearby secondary roads, particularly Masaya Street.

“Roads are for the vehicles while sidewalks are for the pedestrians. That is very basic,’’ Ludovica said.