Mandaue gov’t conducts public hearing on planned cashlight program in public market

The Mandaue City Government holds a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, to introduce the planned implementation of the Paleng-QR Ph Plus. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CTIY, Cebu—The Mandaue City Government conducted a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, to introduce the planned implementation of the Paleng-QR Ph Plus.

The public hearing was done so the government will know what vendors and buyers at the Mandaue City Public Market have to say about the planned Paleng-QR Ph Plus program.

The city wants to adopt the program initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of Interior and Local Government to promote a cashlight society.

Dr. Gregorio Baccay III, head of the Regional Economic Affairs of the BSP Visayas Office, said that they envision a cashlight society, wherein the use of paper money will be minimized.

The program is a platform that aims to promote digital payments in public market and local transport across the country and accelerate financial inclusion toward a broad based economic growth and resilience for all.

Under the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program, buyers can make payments and vendors can give the change using mobile wallets among others.

“Pero dili sad nato walaon ang kwarta. Ngano man? Kay lami man gud kuptan ang kwarta’ng papel. Ang term namo cashlight, dili cashless,” Baccay explained.

(But we will not totally remove cash. Why? Because it is still nice to hold paper money. Our term is cashlight, not cashless.)

Baccay also said this program aims to prevent the use of counterfeit money and possibly avoid getting germs through paper bills.

He said that germs could stay on bills for almost 21 days. He added that public market and transportation are one of the sources of dirty and dilapidated paper bills.

Under the program, vendors will be encouraged to open bank accounts for their mobile wallets.

One concern the vendors raised was  that they still do not know how to use mobile wallet apps. They are also worried of the wallet limitations and the service charges.

But vendors who were victims of robbery prefer the digital payments just like Nieves Auman.

“Daghan mangilad. Ganahan na ko og cashless na gyud kay para mailhan sad ang halin. Nag practice naman gyud ko ron kay usually sa akoang stall, bayad sa bugas GCash or Pay Maya,” said Auman.

(There are a lot of swindlers. I really like cashless so that my profit could easily be known too. I have been practicing already because usually, in my stall, the payment for rice is through GCash or Pay Maya.) 

Slowly but surely

The Mandaue City Public Market introduced cashless payments to the vendors and customers since late last year.

Councilors Oscar del Castillo and Jennifer del Mar, authors of the proposed ordinance, promised to implement the program slowly.

“Hinay-hinay lang kay sama atoang giingun nila nga aduna pay dili kaayo mogamit sa cellphone. Tan-aw ko nakasabot-sabot na ang uban,” said Del Castillo, chairman of the committee on Market and Abattoir.

(We will do it slowlu because like what they said, there are still those who don’t know how to use their cellphones. I think some understand already.)

“Great things happened to those who patiently tried, we will try but it doesn’t mean that we will enforce immediately, slowly but surely,” said Del Mar, chairperson of the on Trade and Industry.

They plan to create a Technical Working Group that will put up an office at the market where customers and vendors can ask if they have problems regarding digital payments.

The BSP aims that 70 percent of the Filipino adults would have transaction account, which means that they will have accounts on the bank and electric money issuers. They also aim that 50 percent of the volume of the retail transactions would be digital.

/bmjo

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