Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said Manila consumers can look forward to stable if not lower prices of vegetables after he vowed to protect Benguet-based vegetable traders from an extortion syndicate and resolved the traffic mess caused by the unregulated operation of vegetable haulers along Recto Avenue in Divisoria.
Estrada met Benguet Gov. Cresencio Pacalso on Tuesday and heeded the governor’s request that vegetable haulers be again allowed to use a portion of Recto Avenue to unload their fresh produce on the condition that they will not block traffic flow in the busy highway.
The mayor promised Pacalso that he will dismantle the syndicate that has been demanding “protection” fees from vegetable traders in Divisoria in exchange for using Recto Avenue even as he asked the governor to consider bringing down the prices of vegetables for the benefit of Manileños and consumers.
“I have asked the vegetable traders to think about lowering or making the price friendly to people of Manila considering they will no longer be setting aside money to pay extortionists,” Estrada said.
“We will give them sufficient protection. They won’t be paying any illegal fees anymore,” he said,
Earlier, vegetable truckers revealed that they shell out P80 a day for a bogus “business permit” and P300 “intelligence fee,” aside from the weekly P2,800 fee, to a group of individuals operating in Recto.
In return, they are allowed to park unhampered along Recto Avenue leading to Divisoria Market to unload their cargo.
In expressing his gratitude to Estrada, the Benguet governor assured that the prices of vegetables from the province will remain stable.
“First of all, we’d like to thank Mayor Erap for his prompt action,” Pacalso said. “We will now be able to freely transport our produce and resume normal trading in Divisoria. Divisoria is now orderly and clean so a lot of customers will come in and several people will also sell vegetables.”
Estrada has reopened Recto Avenue to Divisoria-bound vegetable haulers from Benguet a week after prohibiting them to use the main road as they have been causing traffic congestion in the busy thoroughfare.
Estrada gave the vegetable truckers a one-lane space along Recto, between Dagupan Street and Abad Santos Avenue.
“We do not want to disrupt vegetable trading in Divisoria. Thousands of farmers from Benguet and other provinces sell their products at Divisoria, but at the same time, we want to ensure that traffic will not be affected,” Estrada pointed out after meeting with Pacalso at the city hall on Tuesday.
Estrada stressed he allowed the “regulated use” of Recto Avenue after Pacalso guaranteed that Benguet vegetable dealers and truckers will police their own ranks and clean up their trash.
At least 30 vegetable trucks from the province drop their cargo at the area every day.
On the other hand, the Divisoria night market, where tons of Benguet produce are traded, has resumed operation from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The night market is on Recto Avenue between Juan Luna and Asuncion streets.
In his letter to Estrada on August 4, Pacalso said thousands of Benguet vegetable farmers and dealers are dependent on Divisoria Market. Last Thursday, around 4,000 kilograms of vegetables worth P8 million were not sold at the La Trinidad Trading Post because the haulers did not pick it up for transport to Divisoria.
This after the city government of Manila closed Recto Avenue to vegetable truckers to free up the perennially congested main road.
The entire Divisoria has recently been cleared of illegal vendors and other traffic-causing obstructions in the past weeks.
Road clearing operations have also been conducted in Binondo, Blumentritt, Quiapo, and Sta, Cruz-Rizal Avenue in the past weeks as part of the city government’s efforts to remove what Estrada described as “anarchy in the streets.”