USERS PERCEPTION ABOUT STREET VENDING ALONG GAISANO MALL

BAJADA SIDEWALK
Basco, Kenneth M.1 and Geneza, Bobbie kitch C.1 and Ar. Nurvin Zary Bustillo
1
Student, BS in Architecture, University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines
bgeneza@umindanao.edu.ph
Professor, College of Architecture and Fine Arts Education, University of Mindanao, Davao
City, Philippines
nurvin_bustillo@umindanao.edu.ph

Abstract
Street vendors play a significant but frequently unappreciated role in both the
vibrancy of public spaces as well as the informal economy in the Philippines. Yet, they are
subject to indiscriminate purges from sidewalks and other contested territories, which they
occupy for lack of provision of spaces in which they could otherwise do business. But such
occurrences, and the conflicts that may follow, can be addressed by revisiting policies, which
seem anti-vendor or which fail to comprehend their presence and needs. This article explores
and examines the street vending along Gaisano Mall Bajada sidewalk, framing the issues and
aspirations against existing laws. Simultaneously examined were typical uses of shifting,
often contested stretches of roads, corners, and easements where hawkers, among other users,
daily negotiate a claim to the city’s space.

Keywords: Street vendors, policy, planning, informal economy, contested spaces.

I. Introduction researcher benefits from this research

In fact, in most cases street vendors
must survive in hostile environment
though they are service providers. A street
vendor is broadly defined as a person who
offers goods for sale to the public at large
without having a permanent built up
structure from which to sell. One of the
problems here in Davao City is the
informal street vending even in sidewalks.
There are spaces that they are legally
allowed to sell their goods on public like
along Gaisano Mall Bajada sidewalk. But
there are still Street vendors are illegally
sell their goods and products especially in
the public areas like schools, plaza, and
malls.
This research study benefits all the
people who want to know all about safety
and its components. Also, future
because they can continue to widen this
topic or use this study to gather reference
and knowledge on street/sidewalk safety.
The researchers came up with the
study on users’ perception about street
vending on street safety and the
convenience of people users of the
sidewalk and street. Thus, the researchers
have been concerned with the safety
practices of the area. Hence, researcher
took advantage of any opportunity to
inform and educate them.
II. Review of Literature
As an informal economic
enterprise, street vending in the Philippines
can be historically situated along the
development of the formal and informal
economy discourse. Moser (1978) noted
that the informal sector stands in contrast
to the formal sector. This is the classical
treatment of the informal sector. On such
note, the informal sector is considered a
result of the efforts of the class of laborers,
farmers, and workers. The rules of the
elite, the landed, or the owners of business
firms, however, govern the formal sector.
The difference between the two economic
systems serves as the backbone of
economic and hierarchical dualism
between formal and informal work. To be
more specific, the informal sector is
inferior to the class of work performed in
the formal sector. Such dualism is also
present in Hart’s (1973) reflection on the
meaning and nature of the informal sector.
Recognized as the first academic scholar to
use the term in published documents, Hart,
in contrast to Moser, specified the
resilience in the informal sector in times of
economic adversity. He noted how the
informal sector mimics the story of
Cinderella who has the capacity to endure,
stay patient, and be victorious in the midst
of difficult times. In this respect, Hart
acknowledged the dynamic potential of the
informal sector to help families and
communities economically stay afloat,
which in turn provided the foundation of
Moser’s point of view.
According to Sharit K. Bhowmik
And Debdulal Saha-Report on Street
Vending in Ten Cities in India, a street
vendor is broadly defined as a person who
offers goods for sale to the public at large
without having a permanent built up
structure from which to sell. Street vendors
may be stationary in the sense that they
occupy space on the pavements or other
public/private spaces or, they may be
mobile in the sense that move from place
to place by carrying their wares on push
carts or in baskets on their heads. In this
essay, the term street vendor includes
stationary as well as mobile vendors and it
incorporates all other local/region specific
terms used to describe them.
Based on interviews and group
discussions with vendors and select
government officials, the issues and
problems related to street vending can be
summarized into three categories: (a)
physical/spatial concerns; (b) governance
and legal concerns; and (c) socio-
economic concerns. Two major spatial
issues have surfaced. First is the effect of
the presence of street vendors on the
vehicular traffic and pedestrian movement.
Both vendors and government officials
admitted that some unorganized hawkers
who occupy the streets slow down, if not
totally obstruct, the vehicular and
pedestrian flow. Some of these
unorganized vendors do not mind blocking
the traffic since they are either connected
to some people in authority such as local
policemen or they give bribes to these
personnel in exchange for tolerance
(Nicolas, 2009, cited in Recio, 2010). The
other problem has to do with sanitation.
Some hawking areas are not cleaned up
after the vending period (Recio, 2010).
There are several issues that have to do
with governance and legal concerns. First,
vendors complain that the government
refuses to legally recognize their existence
and contributions. This is manifested in
absence of permit for street hawkers.
There is no office to accommodate
vendors’ concerns. Another main issue is
on laws that affect street vendors. At best,
these policies are ambivalent toward the
recognition of vending as legitimate work.
At worst, the laws are inconsistent, which
keeps the legal status of the hawkers in a
precarious condition. The lack of
awareness of vendors about the policies
affecting them is also a major concern. For
instance, the specific rules on prohibiting
street vending on sidewalks and easement
spaces are not clear to the vendors. They
are not even aware of the specific laws or
local ordinances that declare street vending
as illegal. Lastly, vendors argue that there
are no holistic and sustainable government
programs for them. Fremista (2009)
claimed that some government officials
and politicians approach the street vendors
during the electoral season to ask for
support. After the electoral contests,
however, the elected officials do not
deliver on their promises of coming up
with vendor-friendly programs and
policies (Recio, 2010). Finally, with
respect to socio-economic concerns, the
most pressing problem is the lack of
capital. Vendors usually resort to getting
loans from either cooperatives or loan
sharks to address their financial needs. For
those who occupy and rent a private space
owned by a shopping mall, the fee is
prohibitive. There is no official document
that contains the terms and conditions
between the renting vendors and the
shopping mall. Everything is negotiated
through verbal agreement (Mangulabnan,
2009).
Objectives of the study
The main goal of the study was to
gather information regarding street
vendors’ perception on street safety and
the convenience of the users passing by.
Moreover, the researchers aimed to:
1. Determined the demographic
profile of local street vendors in terms of:
1.1 Age,
1.2 Gender,
1.3 Educational attainment,
1.4 Monthly income, and
1.5 Years of experience as a
Street vendor;
2. Know the perception of street
Vendors on street safety in
connection with;
2.1 Street safety practices
towards users passing by,
2.2 Environmental exposure to
products,
2.3 Vendors product security
3. Determine the differences
between vendors’ perception in
terms of product safety practices,
environmental exposure,
demographic profile when grouped
according to their age, gender,
educational attainment, monthly
income years of experience as
vendor and the users’ convenience
passing by.
III. Methodology
Research Design
The researchers used the descriptive
quantitative and qualitative approaches.
According to o Penwarden (2014), it is
conclusive in nature as opposed to
exploratory. He stated that descriptive
research gathers quantifiable information
that can be used for statistical inference on
your target audience through data analysis.
Quantitative approach is used to analyze
variables.
According to Willis from the
Marketing Donut (2009), quantitative
research includes surveys and customers
questionnaires that help small firms to
improve their products and services by
enabling them to make informed decisions.
The type of research that will be used in
this study is qualitative research and
quantitative research. Qualitative
researchers aim to gather an in-depth
understanding of human behaviour and the
reasons that govern such behaviour. The
discipline investigates the “why" and
“how" of decision making. Besides this,
the researcher will also examine the
phenomenon through observations in
numerical representations and through
statistical analysis. Along with
questionnaires that will be given out to
respondents for the statistical
representation of the findings in the study,
interviews with the respondents and a few
experts in this field will also be conducted.
Research Locale
The researchers conducted a survey
interview along Gaisano Mall Bajada,
Davao City, a group of concessionaire
stands that offers various types of roasted
and/or grilled foods and the cellphone
accessories products. Ten small
entrepreneurs sell their product at a low-
sanitized sidewalk. While hundreds of
people are wandering there every day,
making it as one of the most visited place
in the city. With that idea, authorities find
it hard to regularly maintain cleanliness
and the disturbance in the area that results
in an unbalanced street safety. Participants
of the Study All 10 street vendors beside
in Gaisano Mall, Bajada, Davao City, were
the respondents of the study. They have
different demographic profiles, making the
study more informative. The focus of the
study was to evaluate the perception of the
vendors towards the street safety of their
food product, cellphone accessories
product and the convenience of sidewalk
users. Data Collection Tools Survey
questionnaires were used as a tool to
gather information.
Different Types of Vendors in the Area
1. Ambulant/Mobile Vendors - The figures
from the government are still low
compared to the actual number of hawkers
occupying along Gaisano Mall Bajada
sidewalk during the peak hours. Based on
an actual observation, during peak hours,
there are over 10 street vendors in the area.
These can be considered as
ambulant/mobile vendors. They use carts,
clothes, improvised steel panels and tables.
2. Semi-fixed, Semi-static Vendors -
There are around 10 vendors who display
and sell their wares using uniform and
regulated stalls. Without fear of being
demolished, these hawkers have a verbal
agreement with the private owner of the lot
they occupy along Gaisano Mall Bajada.
They can be considered as semi-fixed,
semi-static vendors.
3. Salaried Street Vendors—Aside from
the regular and organized vendors,
unorganized street hawkers and those who
have relatively secure space, another
emerging phenomenon is the existence of
salaried vendors. Mangulabnan (2009) and
Fremista (2009) shared that some of these
hawkers are paid on a daily basis with
different time arrangements: 8:00 o’clock
in the morning until 10:00 o’clock in the
evening. Others engage in street vending
on a consignment basis (Recio, 2010). This
means that they do not own the capital
used to finance the goods and the
necessary equipment. As of the moment,
however, there is no available figure on the
number of this type of street vendors.
The Policy Environment
The national and local policies
affecting the street vendors especially
along Gaisano Mall Bajada and the use of
streets and sidewalks cover three major
areas. These are (a) policies that provide
principles and frameworks that recognize
street vendors’ use of streets and
sidewalks; (b) policies that provide
national and local structures for vendors’
involvement and those that have structures
affecting street vendors; (c) policies with
specific provisions on the use and
regulation of spatial resources (for
example, streets). For each of the policy
areas, the policy review reveals that the
laws are either supportive or highly critical
of street vendors and the vending practice.
At the national level, the Philippine
Constitution implicitly provides principles
that support micro entrepreneurial
initiatives such as vending. This is also
explicitly mentioned in other enabling
national laws such as the Local
Government Code of 1991 and the 5. How often are you
Executive Order 452, which specifically buying products to
provides guidelines to ensure security of them?
vendors in their working areas. There are 6. Have you
even laws specifying rules on how street experience
vendors and their representatives can be jaywalking
part of government structures. These because of
include the Republic Act 8425 or the overfield users?
Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act 7. How safe your
(1997), the Republic Act 7941 or the Party products to the
List System Act, among others. There are public?
also local ordinances in three cities that
have similar legal provisions.

Data-Gathering Procedure
Data Collection Tools The researchers used the survey
Survey questionnaires were used as questionnaire to ask the vendors their
a tool to gather information. The survey perception on street safety. They also
questionnaire consists of researcher-made conducted a one-on-one interview with the
questions consisting of four sub-categories vendors and gathered deeper insights on
that are in line with street safety. The the subject matter.
languages used were English and
Filipino/Tagalog to avoid language barrier.
Options were formed through four-point References
Likert Scale, where: “4” represents as
Always, “3” as Sometime, “2” as Seldom,
and “1” as Never.
The researchers also conducted interview
with the respondents to obtain deeply their
insights on street safety and convenience
of the users passing by.

Research Questions 4 3 2 1
1. How comfortable
are you passing
by?
2. Have you
experience delayed
going to your
destination?
3. Have you
experience bump
someone when
passing?
4. Do you experience
buying their
products?
Aquino, J. P., Pedalgo, C. C., Zafra, A. R., & and Tuzon, T. P. (2015, September). The
Perception of Local Street Food Vendor of Tauan City, Batangas on Food Safety.
LPU–Laguna Journal of International Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Devlin, R. T. (2015, May 23). ‘An area that governs itself’: Informality, uncertainty and the
management of street vending in New York City. Planning Theory.
Gomes, R. B. (2013, March). Street Vendors, their Contested Spaces, and the Policy
Environment: A View from Caloócan, Metro Manila. Environment and Urbanization
Asia.
Pavo, R. R. (2019). Night Market as Lived Space: The Case of Davao City, Philippines .
Asia-Pacific Social Science Review .