Labella to PROBE, market authority: Intensify cleanup drive in markets, streets

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella wants the city’s cleanup operations to go a notch higher. | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — “Intensify the cleanup operations of the city’s public markets and clear the streets of vendors.”

This is Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella’s latest marching orders to the Public, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team, and the City Market Authority.

Labella said he issued the order not only as a part of the 60-day deadline of President Rodrigo Duterte to clear out the streets, but also as his own goal to put order in the streets of Cebu City and its public markets.

“Even without the order of the President, we have started cleaning. All the more reason that the President gave that order,” said Labella.

READ: Pasil market clean-up: 15 unauthorized stalls closed down, drainage declogging underway

He asked the barangays to help clean the public markets in the city, starting from the biggest ones, the Carbon and Pasil Public Markets, so that these areas of trade would be safer for the consumers, especially since food had been most of the products sold here.

He said he was determined to clean the markets starting from the bigger ones such as the Tabo-an Market to the the smaller barangay public markets.

He said the public markets had long been neglected of proper hygiene and sanitation and the city government would like to make sure that these areas would now be a clean place for consumers.

READ: PROBE: Only 100 vendors will be allowed on the sidewalks of Colon Street

For the street vendors, Labella said he had yet to meet with them and as for the night market, he reiterated that this would remain to be suspended.

In earlier reports, Labella said that he would want to have an agreement with the night market vendors that they would only be allowed to sell during the night but not in during the day.

He said the PROBE team would continue to clear the streets of both street vendors except for those, registered sidewalk vendors.

Labella cited the safety of the street vendors, who ply their trade even among moving traffic, as the reason for the continued PROBE operation against them.

“We need to have a safer place for them to stay,” he said.

READ: Labella calls on barangays to help in the ‘massive’ river cleanup

Meanwhile, the mayor has also tapped the barangays to help in the cleanup projects as they play an important role in these projects.

He was referring not only to the market cleanups but also to the upcoming massive dredging of the city’s river systems on August 17.

READ: Cebu Cenro requests dredging equipment from DPWH for river cleanup

He encouraged the barangay officials to support the city’s cleanup projects as a way to address the flooding problem in the city.

Councilor Franklyn Ong, Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) Cebu City president, earlier assured the mayor of the barangays support to the river cleanup operations. / dbs