The Harrison Road of Baguio City may seem like any other road at first glance, but at sundown it turns into a lively bazaar that offers a variety of products for all to buy, this is known as the night market. The night market pops up at night from 9PM to 2AM with vendors to sell all kinds of products. There is a multitude of items to be found at the night market like clothes, bags, accessories, trinkets, and even kitchenware.
It is frequented by not just locals, but the tourists as well, it is known as a place to purchase quality products at a cheap price. The night market is a sustainable source of livelihood that started over ten years ago with the purpose of serving as an alternative to hundreds of itinerant vendors who are as nomadic as they are due to previous efforts done to clear the public market and sidewalks from the increasing number of drug dealers and unwanted sellers. These ambulant vendors were often apprehended by the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD) due to their violations of the anti-peddling ordinance.
Now, it is a source of livelihood to thousands of residents, and being one of Baguio’s biggest tourist attractions it contributes to generating resources for the local government to work with. Today, the Harrison night market is home to the businesses of approximately 1,068 vendors and the city earns around PHP 1.5 million per month with vendors each paying the local government PHP 350 every week.
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Now, in a shaking stir of debate, the government has decided to push the night market onto its next step of development. As of April of 2019, Mayor Mauricio Domogan and concerned offices of the local government have been studying the possibility of relocating the night market venue away Harrison Road, and so far the best site has been along the stretch of Kayang Street.
The reason behind the interest in relocation is for them to find a permanent site for the night market as the current venue that is Harrison Road is owned by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and not the local government. This means that the local government cannot operate the night market to its full capabilities as it is operated only under the mercy of another organization’s land.
This proposed ordinance of relocation has sprung forth the debate of whether the local government must pursue the relocation of the night market or not. Signing a new ordinance is like pushing the first piece to a full set of dominoes, it opens up a whole new set of arguments, oppositions, debate, and more. It changes the lives of the affected people one way or another. The focus of the debate on whether night market be relocated or not is whether its impact will be good on all affected parties which compromise the local government, the vendors, and the customers, and whether the effects of the proposal would overweigh the good over the bad in the long run. This paper is in accordance to the relocation, as relocating the night market to Kayang Street is a proposal full of opportunity and potential and it is up to the local government to see it through.
The first argument here is that relocation opens the night market to opportunity to grow. As of now, Harrison road is a national road controlled by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) while Kayang Street is a city road, this means that any and all activity of the night market conducted in Harrison Road is conducted under the mercy and control of the DPWH. In the past, several attempts were made to rationalize the operation of the night market to become more efficient but these attempts were to no avail. Due to this, any chances of expansion or improvement have been limited. By transferring to Kayang Street, the local government will open the night market to much more opportunity, of course such opportunity will only present itself if the proposed transfer is well thought through by those responsible.
Generally, the main argument that would naturally come across the minds of the public people would be: “Why bother relocating?”. Many would reason that the night market is fine as it is. Now while this is true, the night market that they all know can definitely do better, and with the relocation to Kayang Street the night market will get the chance to do just that.
Growth of the night market is one of the foremost opportunities that Kayang Street will offer to the vendors. Since Kayang Street is owned by the local government and not the DPWH, operation of the stalls will be more efficient and hassle-free as the location of the street is a dead area at night compared to Harrison Road where traffic gets congested during the hours of the night market. In Harrison Road the stalls operate with the eminent presence of the DPWH overshadowing the night market, for if they decide on it then the night market may be cleared at any time as to open space for Harrison Road traffic, the same cannot be said about operation in Kayang Street.
It is not just the night market vendors that will benefit, but the vendors around Kayang Street as well. Vendors from the main market and various businesses ranging from bakeries to toy stores will be able to profit from the influx of tourists and customers from the relocation.
Profit will be greatly increased as the Kayang Street night market is planned to operate from 9PM to 3AM compared to Harrison Road’s 9PM to 2AM, the extra hour will allow vendors to generate more profit in the long run.
Even more, profit gained during the rainy season will see a significant increase. Yearly, the night market generates income amount to at around PHP 14.9 million, though only nine months on average are operating months due to rain and typhoons. The narrowness of Kayang Street allows tents to be installed easier than in Harrison. This means that vendors will not always be forced to close their stalls and will be able to operate more efficiently during the rainy seasons. Though typhoons will still be inevitable, the extended operation of the night market during rainy days will see a beneficial increase in profit.
Now while these opportunities may seem great, they are only an ideal. It is up to the efforts of the local government and the vendors to decide whether the new night market will bear fruit or whether it was just a sugar-coated ideal.
The second argument is that Kayang Street is the best possible venue for the relocation of the night market. The local government has been looking for a better venue for the night market for a while now, and Kayang Street’s proposal has not been the only relocation considered. Before the Harrison Road night market came forth, the night market once conducted its operations within the concrete portion in front of the bleachers of the Baguio Athletic Bowl. It was eventually relocated to Harrison Road due to the overwhelming demand for a better site by the vendors as the Athletic Bowl night market’s activities were too compromised, this relocation resulted in a great increase of participating vendors which further developed the night market into what it is known as today.
Previously, the local government has surveyed the Melvin Jones football ground to see whether its perimeter would serve as an appropriate venue, though the actual football field would remain undisturbed. This was pushed further into a proposal of full relocation, with plans to install sufficient lighting fixtures around the venue and to elevate its perimeter as a boulevard for the vendors and customers.
Unfortunately, the said proposal met many criticisms from environmentalists and activists because the state of the football ground will still be affected one way or another, and so, the relocation never came forth. Now, the local government has set its eyes on Kayang Street. They have done intensive research on the ups and downs and on what to do to make the relocation work. Despite this, many arguments to the relocation has come forth to oppose the proposal due to many issues deemed to be major problems by the community, these are of the most relevant arguments which may affect the success of the relocation:
Firstly, there have been complaints that Kayang Street is not as wide a street as Harrison. Now while this is true, it is important to remember that Harrison Road too is a tight space, especially during peak season when traffic is high and tourists are plenty. The difference with Kayang Street is that the local government will be able to do something about it as the street is under the government’s control. Adjustments may be made in order to counteract on this problem such as renovations on the road’s pavement to maximize space, proper allocation of vendor stalls and areas, and the general cleaning of the road. On the other hand, the new market site is planned to operate along the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Kayang Street which will be longer than the wider Harrison Road, this will may serve as compensation for the narrowness of Kayang Street.
Another point of argument is that it is a wet market and that the smell at Kayang Street is unpleasant, especially during the night where trash is thrown around the street. This problem too can be solved by the local governments efforts. A sanitation project would be proper to prepare the street for the night market’s relocation, a thorough cleaning of the street, disinfecting the area of parasites and rodents, and fixing of sewage pipes, and Kayang Street would then be cleansed and ready to serve as the venue of a new night market.
Lastly of the arguments on is that safety is of a concern. It is known that there are many pubs and drinking places around the street’s vicinity which raises an issue of the overall security of the area. An issue that surfaced last year in December is the murder of Imam Bedijim Abdulla in Kayang Street who was shot by gunmen who are still unidentified. While the motif is still unknown, the murder has been the upbringing of consternation towards the area. Safety is the most pressing issue of the arguments as the security of the people always comes first.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan reminded that security of existing stalls shall be given attention should the relocation plans push through. Domogan said that in the proposal of relocation there must be proper security for both the stalls and the shoppers before any form of transfer will occur, though upping the security will not be so difficult a challenge as there is a police station right around the corner of Kayang Street.
Of the three mentioned arguments, it is seen that all the issues mentioned can be solved or prevented by the power of the local government itself, it is through their efforts that the people’s concerns may be taken care of in order for the relocation to be backed by the community and ultimately be a successful project. Should the relocation come to action, the best that the people can do is to hope for the local government to take responsibility in addressing the issues that may affect the prosperity of the relocation.
In conclusion, moving the Harrison Road night market to Kayang Street is a proposal wherein the good outweighs the bad. Kayang Street is a location for the night market that is filled with opportunity and potential to grow the night market even further than what it is now.
Relocating the night market to lands wherein the local government has its jurisdiction means the night market will save more money and waste less time in its operations compared to its venue in Harrison Road which is owned by the DPWH. The night market will be more free in its conducting of business and it will have more to work with.
Vendors not only originating from the night market but around the street of relocation will see an increase in profit in their sales during night market’s operating hours. The extension of the 2AM closing time to 3AM is a noteworthy change, as well as the increased efficiency of operation during rainy hours thanks to the ease of installing tents in the street.
The proposal of Kayang Street comes from a history of different takes on the night market which began in Baguio Athletic Bowl and is now located in Harrison Road. Different venues have been surveyed and researched, and in the end it is Kayang Street which comes as the best candidate. Many arguments have arisen on the street’s locale and environment but all of these arguments may be solved or prevented by the local government’s efforts.
In fact, all possible arguments on the locale of the street may be solved by the local government’s feats. Preparation projects and cleaning work will be imperative should the proposal come forth. Safety, cleanliness, and security will be the top priorities in the preparation of Kayang Street.
Overall, if the proposal were to come forth, the night market will have new doors opened to opportunity, it will then be up to the local government and the vendor’s efforts on what to do with these opportunities. Either way, if nothing is done to the night market now then nothing will happen, and so this proposal that is full of potential is one that is welcome. In the end, it is all up to the local government on what to do, the best that we can hope for is the proper execution should the proposal be implemented.
References
- SunStar Baguio – Relocation eyed for Baguio night market
- Inquirer.net – Baguio City considers relocating night market
- Baguio Herald Express – Night market choices along Harrison Road now finalized
- Philippine News Agency – Big turnout greets opening of Baguio night market
- Baguio News – City moors night market near Palengke
