Metro Manila: A Cruel Place for Street Vendors

A few years ago, he stopped illegal vendors from plying their trade on sidewalks by ordering his men to spray kerosene on the goods they were selling. In this manner, he reasoned, there is no way they can recover their investments. He confiscated their carts, and detained those who persisted in occupying the sidewalks (David, R. 2007).

"Bayani Fernando and the Urban Poor." Public Lives; Inquirer Opinion and Columns, First Posted 03:32am (Mla time) 09/01/2007.


Excerpted from Bhowmik, S. (2005), Street Vendors in Asia: A Review. ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY, May 28 to June 04, 2005.


The main problems faced by the street vendors is that there are no demarcated areas for them to operate. Street food vendors do not have access to piped water and they are hence rendered illegal on health grounds. Street vendors are also blamed for the filth on the pavements and for causing traffic problems. The attitude of the government towards them can be gauged from a report, quoted below, on the latest moves to get them off the streets.

Officials in the Philippines are planning to clear illegal street sellers off pavements by spraying their goods with kerosene. Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando says the move will make the goods unsellable (sic) and soon make street vending unprofitable.

He has lost patience after the failure of other moves to combat illegal sellers. He plans teams of officials armed with plastic spray bottles filled with kerosene to hit vendors’ stalls without warning.

Human rights groups are criticising the measure, but Mr. Fernando seems unconcerned about the fire safety aspect of dousing materials in flammable liquid. He is unhappy about the litter left behind by street sellers and occasional traffic jams they cause by blocking streets, reports the Straits Times, quoting the Manila Standard newspaper. Mr Fernando said: “They can run, but they can no longer sell their goods once we have sprayed these with gas. Eventually, they will lose capital and stop illegal vending. People will no longer buy items that smell of, or are soaked in gasoline, particularly edible goods” [Ananova: Story filed: 14:56 Sunday, August 11, 2002].