The Bacolod City government’s crackdown on illegal structures continued Wednesday, July 1, as personnel from the City Legal Office (CLO) Enforcement Team and the City Administrator’s Office–Market Enforcement Action Team closed and cleared 97 stalls inside the Libertad Market Annex Building.
Retired Police Col. Levy Pangue, team leader of the CLO Enforcement Team, said the operation was launched following alarming reports from the Libertad Market Vendors Association that stalls awarded to vendors were being used as storage areas, while several had been converted into makeshift dwellings and sites of alleged illegal activities.
“Garbage was found everywhere, and we were informed that some stalls converted into makeshift houses had become havens for illegal drug use,” Pangue said.
Following the clearing operation, the Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO) and the City Administrator’s Office immediately began cleanup efforts and scheduled a massive flushing operation on Friday, July 3, a press release from the Bacolod City Communications Office said.
The sanitation drive aims to address the overwhelming stench caused by human waste, accumulated garbage, and severe pest infestations that have rendered the area a public health hazard.
The Annex Building has been placed under temporary closure while Market Superintendent Theresa Robles and Market Supervisor Cherry Aujero meet with stall awardees who are currently vending along nearby streets. They will be instructed to occupy their assigned stalls inside the building or risk having their stall allocations revoked and raffled off to other qualified vendors.
“We will conduct discussions with the vendors’ association to finalize long-term rehabilitation plans and sustainable interventions,” Aujero said.
The operation, conducted under the directive of Mayor Greg Gasataya, was joined by personnel from the Bacolod Traffic and Transport Management Department (BTTMD), BENRO, and the Bacolod City Police Office. The agencies also carried out large-scale clearing operations outside the Annex Building to reclaim sidewalks and streets for public use.
Meanwhile, simultaneous clearing operations targeting road obstructions were conducted in Barangays 14 and 16 by the BTTMD and the CLO Enforcement Team.
Authorities removed three amusement stalls, locally known as peryahan, that had occupied nearly half of the roadway following a recent barangay fiesta. They also towed 26 colorum tricycles, three e-bikes, three food carts, and one sidecar for obstruction and illegal parking.
In addition, authorities issued notices of violation to the owners of three abandoned vehicles found illegally parked along the roadside.
BTTMD Officer-in-Charge Atty. Reuben Mikhail Sabig said the operation reinforces the city administration’s policy that sidewalks and roads are intended exclusively for the safe passage of the public and should not be used for private commercial expansion or illegal parking.
During the operation, authorities served a total of 33 notices of violation—14 in Barangay 14 and 19 in Barangay 16—to owners of illegal structures encroaching on Palanca Road.
The recipients have until July 3 to voluntarily dismantle their structures. Failure to comply will prompt the City Legal Office to carry out mandatory demolition, the press release said.*
[sibwp_form id=1]