The Narratives of Street Vendors: A Case
Study on Street Vending in Ormoc City
Phoenex Daffon, Tripon Sanico, Stephanie Claire
Vinculado
Introduction
Informal activities are important for
numerous reasons. From a societal standpoint,
informal employees lack social safety and
insurance, which may harm their economic
prospects and have wider implications for
inequality and poverty. Informality also has an
impact on labour market outcomes, productivity,
and growth, albeit the overall effect is unknown
(Andrews et al., 2011). The Philippines is one of
the countries with large informal activities.
Blunch et al. (2001) states that the informal
sector in the Philippines absorbs 66.9% of
employment. Meanwhile, in other Asian
countries, the contribution of this sector to
employment ranges between 77.9% in
Indonesia, 67.1% in Pakistan, 51.4% in
Thailand, and 73.7% in India. Informal
activities, hence, have become an epidemic not
just in the Philippines but anywhere or far and
wide across Asia.
The informal sector, which primarily consists
of street vending, is critical to income
generating, job creation, and production (Recchi,
2020). It is a source of livelihood for many
people globally. Street vending is one of the
most innovative ways to do business. With an
informal business, vendors can support their
families and pay for their kids’ education.
Recently, street vending offers many
advantages for cities restarting after COVID-19
shutdowns. For starters, it can alleviate some of
the economic impact of the pandemic. Second, it
is more easily structured to induce social
distancing than the internal areas of congested
commercial malls. These behaviors expand the
possibilities for street commerce (Short, 2020).
Street vendors make cities livelier, safer, and
fairer. Promoting street vending may create jobs,
keep people safe, and foster the liveliness and
comity that characterizes thriving, humane
cities.
Bhowmik et al. (2012) expresses that
there are three kinds of street vendors. The first
and most prevalent type of vendor in most cities
is the static vendor. These folks sit on the
sidewalks and sell their items. Mobile vendors
are the second and third types. There are
distinctions between the two. The first are
individuals who sell their items using push carts
or hand carts. These people either wander about
the neighborhood selling their items or part their
cart on the street. Their clients come to them to
buy things when they are moving about or
afterwards when they are parked. The third form
is the mobile vendor, who carries items in
baskets on the head or, if two large baskets are
used, these are linked to two ends of a bamboo
pole and carried on the shoulder.
Street vending is a necessary part of the
public sphere. This sector contributes to the
economic vitality of the city. According to
Fletcher and Ahmed (2011), street vending
activities serve three critical functions in urban
economic systems. The first crucial role of street
vending is that it provides a significant amount
of employment to the urban and migrant
populations. The second important economic
contribution of street vending is that the
activities of street vendors have a cascading
effect on the local economy (Flaming et al.,
2015). This is demonstrated when street vendors
offer their products to passers-by; as their profits
grow, so does demand for more goods and
services from local suppliers. Third, Ray and
Mishra (2011) stated that street vendors provide
a low-cost, decentralized, and highly efficient
system of distributing daily products. These are
goods like fruits and vegetables, which cannot
be adequately served by the formal sector.
The researchers used a semi-structured
interview and created questions based on a
thematic framework. Three themes emerged
from the study: (1) how street vendors function
at the Ormoc City Public Market, (2) their
attitude towards the regulation of the Local
Government Unit, and (3) how the LGU protects
their rights against discrimination.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study will use random sampling
selection wherein each member of the
population is given an equal opportunity to
become part of the sample. It is the simplest
form of probability sampling which is done
using lottery or raffle method of determining the
representative sample. It uses individual
interviews for target participants: street vendors,
to get a comprehensive summary of their
difficulties, sentimentalities, and struggles in
street vending. Additionally, a schedule of
interviews is being created for the employees of
the Local Government Unit who occupy the
positions of Administrative Aide
Procurement/Purchasing, Administrative Aide 1-
Record and Property, and Administrative Aide 1
Cleanliness and Sanitation Officer. The key
informants' information will be recorded and
organized so that it will be presented in the most
pertinent way possible. The desired number of
(number of vendors) street vendors from the
Ormoc City Public Market at Ebony St., District
2, Ormoc, 6541 Leyte, as well as three (3) LGU
employees will participate in this survey as
respondents.
Research Locale
The study shall be conducted within the
city of Ormoc, specifically, Ormoc City Public
Market located at Ebony St., District 2, Ormoc,
6541 Leyte.
Research Instrument
The population of the study
include(number of vendors) sidewalk vendors.
The selection will follow no statistical method
since the Local Government Unit where such
respondents belong has no data pertaining to
their exact number. Instead, the researchers will
visit the sites where these vendors normally
conduct their trade. In line with this, an
unstructured interview will be used to know the
relevant experiences of the participants at the
Ormoc City Public Market. Additionally,
concerned LGU personnel who occupy the
positions of AA1 Procurement/Purchasing,
AA1-Record and Property and AA1 Cleanliness
and Sanitation Officer will also be asked about
the current implementations in their area of
responsibility.
Gathering Data
In order to conduct their research in their area
and gather information about street vending in
Ormoc City Public Market at Ebony St., District
2, Ormoc, 6541 Leyte, the researchers of this
study will prepare a letter of consent to be given
to the LGU Personnel. The research adviser will
1
verify and approve the letter of consent in
advance. The researchers will only proceed with
conducting their interviews if all sides agree to
the schedule and accept the letter of consent that
has been submitted to them. To gather
information about how street vending functions
in Ormoc City Public Market, the researchers
will then visit the offices of the LGU employees
who hold the positions of AA1
Procurement/Purchasing, handled by Mrs.
Marites M. Laguitan, AA1- Record and
Property, handled by Mrs. Evelyn Escape, and
AA1 Cleanliness and Sanitation Officer, handled
by Mr. Romeo Daffon. These offices are located
at Ebony St., District 2, Ormoc, 6541 Leyte. The
three (3) concerned LGU employees of the
Ormoc City Public Market as well as the desired
(number of street vendors) street vendors who
are selected through random sampling are the
participants of the study. There will be two types
of respondents used in this study. The first
category includes street vendors, who can be
either men or women. There are a total of
(number of respondents) respondents within this
category who will be questioned one-on-one. To
obtain a balanced outcome, the researchers agree
to interview (number of participants)
participants. The second group will be made up
of three(3) LGU employees who are in charge of
the public market in Ormoc City. The
researchers decide to interview three (3)
employees to fully analyze and get the data
needed regarding the socioeconomic conditions
of the street vendors. They will be interviewed
to provide a better grasp of the subject matter
according to the mandates of their office. Thus,
the data that the researchers will gather will
allow them to provide a detailed description of
the dynamics and socioeconomic conditions of
the street vendors in Ormoc City Public Market
at Ebony St., District 2, Ormoc, 6541 Leyte.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The Variety of Street Vending Economy
The manufacture and sale of legal goods and
services in urban public spaces that are not
formally governed by law and that take
place in temporary constructed structures is
referred to as informal street vending [9].
Although there are a significant number of
street sellers around the world, their exact
number is unknown. Despite this, there are
official regional statistics and studies that
show how extensive the business is in
particular developing countries. For
instance, street sellers account for between
12 and 14% of all urban informal
employment in sub-Saharan Africa, 14% in
India, and 9% of all urban informal labor in
Lima and Peru [10]. Additionally, while a
significant portion of street vendors in the
global South engage in informal business
practices [11], this is nevertheless true in
many developed nations as far as the sector
as a whole [12,13]. In the past, the
definition of street vending has relied on the
binary opposition between formal and
informal, or regular and irregular economic
activity [10,11,12]. However, in research
from both developing and developed
nations, there is a propensity to categorize
the industry in accordance with street
vendors' working methods in order to
highlight the variability of the problem [13].
There are disparities in terms of working
circumstances as well as varying degrees of
legal regulation violations for each type of
street vendors. According to Saha, the
working circumstances of street vendors are
frequently characterized by poor wages, the
absence of social security or governmental
benefits, lengthy workdays, and dangerous
working hazards.
The National Street Vendor Policy of
India
Early in 2014, India's Parliament approved
the National Policy on Street Vendors
(updated 2009), capping decades of
advocacy by organizations representing
street vendors like the National Association
of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) and the
Self-Employed Women's Association
(SEWA) [15]. India is the first nation to
adopt progressive, centralized legislation
relating to street vending (the country's
Supreme Court had ordered the government
to enact such a law no later than 2011
having recognized the importance of street
vending to India's urban economies and the
particular vulnerabilities of street vendors).
Several protections for livelihood, social
security, and human rights are included in
the bill [16]. It is not flawless, though; for
instance, it delegated many of the
responsibilities for passing laws to state or
local governments and had fewer
participation options for street sellers in
local decision-making bodies than in the
National Policy. However, it is a significant
step toward ensuring that street vendors are
taken into account and represented in urban
planning processes and that they are
recognized as significant contributors to the
urban economy [17].
The Politics of Space and Culture in
Santiago, Chile’s Street Markets
The 401 street marketplaces of Santiago,
Chile's capital, were first acknowledged
formally in the late 1930s (Salazar, 2003),
albeit illegal vendors on the periphery of
these markets only sell goods worth
approximately 40% of what authorized
vendors do [18]. At both the local and
federal levels, there are competing interests
between licensed vendors, unlicensed
wholesalers, and the state. Government
officials may relocate official markets for
road construction projects or public transit,
but they also avoid repressing illegal
vendors because markets employ many
residents. Illegal traders take advantage of
any chance to make money on the street.
Licensed vendors try to monopolize
particular sections of the street without
being subjected to "unfair" competition from
illegal vendors. By encouraging
neighborhood events that rely on patrons'
regular habits, authorized sellers in the local
setting strengthen the strong feeling of place
they have already established. These
initiatives aim to establish enduring
relationships of loyalty with their clientele
[19]. Legitimate vendors also request aid
from the local government in driving off
unlicensed sellers from markets, but mayors
prefer to continue providing unlicensed
vending jobs rather than acting on behalf of
legal vendors. Legal merchants risk being
displaced as a result of transportation
policies and road building. In response, they
work with their neighbors to negotiate their
removal to alternate locations [20].
Issues Concerning the Informal Vendors
and Policy Environment
A qualitative research on street vendors in
the Metro Manila region's Caloocan city
area revealed that despite the prevalence of
street sellers in urban areas, people still
struggle with a number of related problems
[20] Three issues facing street sellers were
discussed in this study: physical and spatial
issues, socioeconomic issues, and legal
issues. Concerns about sellers slowing down
traffic and pedestrian movement through the
streets were raised in relation to spatial
difficulties. Additionally, street food
vendors lack access to piped water and are
frequently made illegal for health reasons.
Given the frequently seasonal nature of the
business, many people spoke of financial
difficulties, describing the usage of loan
sharks or short-term loans to address long-
term financial loss [21]. Finally, because
street vendors are not respected, the local
government does not issue permits or look
into vendor safety problems. This exposes
the sellers to risks such as penalties or legal
action in jurisdictions that favor vendors in
the formal sector over those in the informal
sector [22]. Due of their vulnerability and
lack of security, vendors may decide to pay
for insurance under the table or make special
agreements with store owners to set up a
pitch outside their premises [23]. These
negotiations shed light on the junction of
many types of power between merchants
and the city as well as between various
vendors [24]. Regarding the latter, it was
emphasized how crucial it is to consider
how street vendors of different genders
negotiate their exposure and vulnerability in
the informal economy and in public spaces,
particularly with reference to unionizing
[25].
Street vendors and city officials bargain
over space
Street vendors sell their items to passersby
while operating from the streets [26]. They
may do so from stationary businesses or
from mobile carts that they move to areas
with a lot of pedestrian traffic [21].
However, street vendors have clashed with
local authorities or regulators over issues
including business space, working
conditions, sanitation, and licensing due to
their presence and activities in several
developing countries [25, 26, 22, 27].
Regulators and street vendors both have
interests that frequently conflict with or are
in direct competition with one another [28].
Due to the conflicting interests of street
sellers and regulators, street vending now
largely depends on ongoing negotiations
between vendors, purchasers, and regulators
[26, 20]. The general public, business
owners, and municipal regulators may all
participate in negotiations for public space,
economic opportunity, and authority [26].
Negotiations may take place between street
vendors, authorities, pedestrians, and
members of the general public about what
constitutes a permissible and prohibited use
of space, as well as what constitutes the
vendor's right to operate in and make a
living from public spaces versus the state's
right to maintain public spaces [29]. Street
vendors' well-being is affected by a number
of significant aspects, including having a
good area to sell their wares. The outcome
of these talks for public space will have a
substantial impact on street vendors' well-
being [30].
Issues Concerning the Informal Vendors
and the Use of Streets and Sidewalk
There are now two significant geographical
problems. The first is how the presence of
street vendors affects traffic flow and
pedestrian mobility. The flow of vehicles
and pedestrians is slowed down, if not
completely obstructed, by certain
unorganized hawkers who occupy the
roadways, according to both vendors and
government officials. Some of these
unorganized traders don't mind obstructing
traffic since they are connected to or pay
bribes to those in positions of authority, such
local police officers, to tolerate their
presence [31]. Sanitation is the subject of the
second issue. Some hawking locations are
not thoroughly cleaned after the vending
session. Several challenges relate to
governing structures and legal issues.
Vendors first gripe that the government
won't formally acknowledge their existence
and contributions. This can be seen in the
fact that street vendors are not permitted. No
office exists to address the complaints of
vendors. Laws affecting street sellers are a
major concern as well. These regulations
are, at most, neutral in their treatment of
vending as legal employment. At worst, the
laws are contradictory, which keeps the
hawkers' legal situation unstable. Another
serious worry is that suppliers may not
understand the regulations that apply to
them. For instance, the sellers do not
understand the precise regulations limiting
street sales on sidewalks and easement
places. Even the particular statutes or local
rules that forbid street vending are unknown
to them. Last but not least, vendors claim
that there are no comprehensive and long-
lasting government programs for them [32].
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