Relocated vendors appeal to Rebaldo
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan –- Though this is a last ditch appeal to Mayor Raymar Rebaldo, the itinerant vendors are asking the local government of Kalibo to allow them to sell their goods along Toting Reyes Street despite the junking of their preliminary mandatory injunction by a Regional Trial Court.
Rose Rentillo, president of the Ambulant Vendors Association, insisted that they are legitimate ambulant vendors who paid the necessary permits for the year 2005. She said they are hoping Rebaldo would finally grant their appeal to contribute in the “eco-tourism thrusts” of the local government.
“"The battle is over, but if Mayor Rebaldo grants our appeal to utilize the portion of Toting Reyes Street as vending area, the ambulant vendors could put in and contribute in the eco-tourism programs of this town,"” said Rentillo over DyRU Super Radyo Kalibo.
The court stressed that the granting of the writ of preliminary injunction cannot be justified since the ambulant vendors have not proven that they have the clear and unmistakable right to occupy a portion of Toting Reyes Street fronting the Kalibo Public Market
Judge Niovady Marin, in his three-page order dated June 16, 2006, said “there is no dispute that the portion of Toting Reyes Street that the ambulant vendors wanted to occupy to sell their wares during market days is a property of public dominion intended for public use; as such, they have no right to appropriate the same for their personal use during market days.”
"It also appears, from the evidence presented, that the ambulant vendors have not paid the necessary business and Mayor’s Permit fees for the current year. Some business or Mayor’s Permit fees that were presented related to the previous years and have already expired,"” said Marin.
The Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo stood firm to transfer the venue of the “bolantehan” from Toting Reyes Street to Oyo Torong Street by virtue of an approved Resolution No. 2001-21 dated August 21, 2001 urging Mayor Raymar Rebaldo to relocate the ambulant vendors, all members of Ambulant Vendors Association along Toting Reyes Street during Wednesdays and Sundays to any viable area here.
The itinerant vendors contented that Resolution No. 2001-21 has no legal basis since it was repealed, amended and modified by Municipal Ordinance No. 2002-057 dated October 17, 2002 which prohibits the display of goods, merchandise and posting of movable billboards, commercial signs and signposts along public areas except Market Days, Wednesdays and Sundays at the Kalibo Market
The court, however, explained that Municipal Ordinance No. 2002-057 merely allows them to occupy the sidewalks and road shoulders during market days and not the whole portion of Toting Reyes Street.