By Mae Singuay

The Bacolod City Local Market Committee (LMC) has not granted the request of fish vendors at the Burgos Market for a deadline extension to pay their arrears.

City Legal Office head Romeo Carlos Ting, Jr. said the LMC will not extend the deadline.

Ting said the city government served demand letters last week to settle their arrears within 10 days.

Only 20 percent of the vendors have paid the arrears in full, he said.

They will be forced to vacate their stalls on January 31 if they don’t pay, he added.

The city government will offer the vacated stalls to other vendors.

Earlier, Burgos Market Fish Vendors’ Association secretary Carmelo Lacson, Jr. submitted an appeal for the deadline extension to Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on markets chair Councilor Celia Flor.

“Nagapangayo kami sang pasaylo sa amon obligasyon sa indi pag-impas sa ginkasugtan nga amount sa kada stall nga amon gina-occupy sa sulod sang fish section sa gintalana nga date sang nagligad nga December 31, 2023,” part of their appeal said.

Lacson said the city government gave them six months to settle their arrears amounting to P16,000 for each vendor.

He reasoned out that the vendors failed to pay the arrears due to a low income in the past months.

“Nagapangayo pa gid kami sang additional nga six months para bayran namon ang utang namon sa sini nga tuig antes kami nga i-transfer sa temporary nga merkado,” they said in a statement./MS, WDJ