THE Baguio City Council has requested in a resolution for the mayor’s office to extend the validity of the remaining stay of the city’s newsstands and other sidewalk stands.
Previously, the Baguio City government had decided to enact a relocation of newsstands and other sidewalk stands in the central business district, intended to be done by the end of the previous year.
However, following public criticism and a public consultation attended by journalists, publishers, general managers of newspaper organizations, and the vendors themselves, the city government agreed to delay the enactment of the relocation to July 1 of this year.
With the end of the agreement coming up and no final relocation plan in place for each of the concerned vendors, the city council has requested an extension of the validity of the agreement delaying the relocation.
Under the plans for relocation, newsstand vendors and other stands in the central business district must be moved at least 0.6 meters away from the sidewalks to provide clear passage for pedestrians.
The stands must then be accommodated either in private establishments that agree to accommodate them or in spaces set aside by the city government.
The move to relocate the vendors and stands is in compliance with the national directive in the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular No. 2019-121, signed by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año on July 9, 2020.
City Planning and Development Coordinator Donna Tabangin meanwhile on Monday proposed that newsstands be relocated to waiting sheds in the city.
