Street Vendor Chapter 1 Revised.docx

Republic of the Philippines Tarlac State University College of Arts and Social Sciences Tarlac City

CAPSULE PROPOSAL

NAME OF INSTITUTION

: Tarlac State University

PROPONENT/S

: Buena, Alona Joy Miranda, Shanelle Villanos, Armand

TITLE OF RESEARCH

: Street Vendors: Actions to Improvement

TYPE OF PROJECT

: Social Science Research

DURATION

: 7 months

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction Street vendors are an integral part of the world's urban economies, contributing to vibrant retail markets and providing an array of affordable, accessible goods and services to urban consumers. Street vending also provides a livelihood for those who

have

few

employment

options,

including

migrants

and

internally displaced people. Street vendors have been in existence since ancient times. In all civilizations, ancient and medieval, one reads accounts of travelling merchants who not only sold their wares in the town

by

going

neighboring

from

house

countries.

to

house

Perhaps

but

they

ancient

also

traded

and

in

medieval

civilizations were tolerant to these wandering traders and that is why they flourished. In modern times we find that street vendors are rarely treated with the same measure of dignity and tolerance. They are targeted by municipalities and police in the urban areas as illegal traders, the urban middle class complains constantly on how these vendors make urban life a living hell as they block pavements, create traffic problem and also engage in anti-social activities. Though more often than not, the same representatives

of

middle

class

prefer

to

buy

from

street

vendors as the goods they sell are cheaper though the quality is as

good

as

those

in

the

overpriced

departmental

stores

and

shopping malls. For most street vendors, trading from the pavements is full of

uncertainties.

They

are

constantly

harassed

by

the

authorities. The local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of these encroachers and in most cases confiscate their goods. A municipal raid is like a cat and mouse game with municipal workers chasing street vendors away while these people try to run away and hide from these marauders. Confiscation

of

their

goods

entails

heavy

fines

for

recovery. In most cases it means that the vendor has to take loans from private sources to either recover whatever remains of his confiscated goods or to restart his business. Besides these sudden raids, street vendors normally have to regularly bribe the authorities in order to carry out their business on the streets. All these mean that a substantive income from street vending

is

spent

on

greasing

the

palms

of

unscrupulous

authorities or to private money lenders. In fact in most cases street vendors have to survive in a hostile environment though they are service providers (Bhowmik, 2014). Philippine street food, also known as “Pagkaing Kalye” in Filipino, is a wide variety of inexpensive cuisine that you can buy from vendors or peddlers on the streets. It is essentially

influenced by other neighboring countries' dishes like Chinese and

Japanese,

taken

to

the

next

level

offers

a

and

given

a

Filipino

twist. Street employment training.

food

vending

especially Poor

to

personal

persons and

significant

with

little

environmental

amount

education

hygiene

of and

contribute

significantly to food contamination and resultant of foodborne diseases.

It

is

assumed

that

by

their

nature,

street

food

contamination is inevitable, yet millions of people depend on this source of nutrition and economic livelihood. Concerns

of

cleanliness

and

freshness

often

discourage

people from eating street food. Lack of refrigeration is often construed as a lack of cleanliness or hygiene; on the other hand, street food often uses particularly fresh ingredients for this very reason. Street food is intimately connected with takeout, junk food, snacks, and fast food; it is distinguished by its local flavor and by being purchased on the sidewalk, without entering any building. Both take-out and fast food are often sold from counters inside buildings. With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awareness. Before street food vending activities in most developing countries are mostly outside the regulation and protection of

the governments. The economic importance of the activities is not

well

appreciated

due

to

the

informal

nature

of

the

enterprise and the lack of official data on the volume of trade involved. The

sector

is

fraught

with

unwholesome

activities

which

have been reported to pose serious concerns over the safety of the practitioners, especially the health of the consumers. These unwholesome activities traversed the whole chain of street food business from agricultural raw materials to the final retail street foods and have been fingered in the outbreak of diseases and

illnesses.

The

prevention,

maintenance,

and

treatment

of

diseases from street foodborne illnesses were reported to result in a heavy drain on the purse of individuals and governments in the

developing

countries

due

to

huge

spending

involved.

The

meager resources that could have been used for infrastructural development

are

being

channeled

to

treatment

of

preventable

diseases outbreak due to the unwholesome activities mentioned above (Bildan et. al. 2018). Today, local authorities, international organizations and consumer

associations

socioeconomic

importance

are of

increasingly street

foods

aware but

of

also

of

the its

associated risks. The major concern is related to food safety, but

other

problems

concerns

such

as

are

waste

also

reported,

accumulation

in

such the

as

sanitation

streets

and

the

congestion of waste water drains and also the hygiene practices of

the

vendors.

The

heavy

dependence

on

street

foods

by

urbanites requires that good quality raw materials be used and that

the

foods

be

prepared

handled

and

sold

under

hygienic

conditions for the assurance of good health. There is a need to properly

address

the

problems

associated

with

street

foods,

especially food safety concerns (The Sanitation and Hygiene of Street Food Vendors, 2016). Local Government Units (LGUs) are the ones responsible for regulating ambulant vendors. Republic Act No. 10611 or the Food Safety

Act,

states,

"The

LGU

shall

also

be

responsible

for

street food sale, including ambulant vending." Though there is no law in the Philippines regulating street vendors. There was a movement urging the amendment of the Code on

Sanitation

of

the

Philippines

to

include

stricter

rules

regarding ambulant vending. The code, which was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on December

23,

1975,

only

mentions

that

ambulant

food

vendors

should only sell bottled drinks, biscuits, and confectionaries. "It is prohibited for food vendors to sell food that requires the use of utensils," the Code states. Davao and Naga cities have

the

best

practices

(Naliponguit, 2015).

in

controlling

street

vendors

That’s why the Tarlac City government’s programs regarding street

vendors

caught

our

interest

wherein

they

conducted

seminars regarding food safety for street food alley vendors. They

also

vendors

allotted

could

a

designated

conduct

their

space

business

where

without

in

the

street

disturbing

the

sidewalks of the City. We would like to know if there are other programs or plans of action the government had to improve the plight of street vendors by consulting to the city hall and DILG office about it. This study will concentrate about the programs and plans of action to improve the plight of street vendors in Tarlac City. This

research

will

therefore

engage

in

understanding

the

perceptions among vendors, consumers and the implementors of the rules and policies in street vending in Tarlac and research how they are affected in various ways. This

study

is

important

to

describe

the

knowledge,

attitudes and practices of street vendors in an urban setting, with

regard

programs.

to

the

Through

effect

such

of

research,

the

Tarlac

gaps

in

City the

government’s

programs

among

street food vendors can be identified in order to underpin the development of more specifically targeted and effective training programmed for such groups. Costumers’ confidence and regulatory control

in

street

vending

can

thus

be

achieved

and

the

detrimental effects of food poisoning incidents on the customers

as well as the city would be minimized. The ability of street vendors to prepare safe foods could still be questionable with the perception sustained that street vendors pose a health risk for all customers. It is also important to know what are the street vendors practices in terms of handling their product for the benefits of their consumer. Also to prevent of facing in the future of having foodborne illness that will cause of death of many people.

Statement of the Problem This

documentary

seeks

to

present

the

programs

of

the

Tarlac City Government for the street vendors. Specifically, this research seeks to answer the following sub problems: 1. How do the programs of the Tarlac City government affect street vendors in terms of: 1.1.

Income

1.2.

Sanitation

1.3.

Safety

2. How may the problems encountered by street vendors in relation

to

the

programs

of

the

City

Government

described? 3. How do vendors address these problems encountered?

be

4. How

may

the

challenges

in

the

implementation

of

the

program for the street vendors be addressed by the city government?

Objectives of the Study This documentary is intended to achieve its main objective in assessing the street vending programs and plans of action at Tarlac City. Specifically, it fulfills the following objectives. 1. To

present

the

program

of

Tarlac

City

government

regarding street vending and how it affects their income, sanitation and safety. 2. To determine problems encountered by street vendors in relation to the programs of the City Government. 3. To know how vendors address these problems encountered. 4. To show how the city government address the challenges in the implementation of the program for the street vendors.

Significance of the Studies The finding of this documentary will be noteworthy to all street vendors, street food consumers, Tarlaqueño’s and to the government. Street encourage

Food

vendors

Vendors. to

This

improve

study

street

aims

food

to

safety

effectively and

thereby

minimize the dangers of foodborne diseases, it is vital to gain in-sight into the perceptions which form practices and attitudes towards food safety and hygiene. Tarlac

City

Government.

This

documentary

will

help

the

government realize the effectivity of their programs and what they can do to improve it in the future. Also, they’ll know of what are the other concerns they should address regarding street vending. Consumers. To let the other possible consumers know that the street food today are handled better and clean for them to eat, so as to increase the possible customers. Researchers.

This

study

will

give

information

about

the

past programs and plans of action of Tarlac City government’s street vending that will take root in the student mind that they will carry and share to the next generation.

Scope and Delimitations This study will focus in the programs and plans of actions of the government of the City of Tarlac for the street food vendors. The study will involve the street food vendors, customers and the implementors themselves and experts on this field around Tarlac

City.

observations

The were

study

done

only

will

be

by

the

delimited Researcher.

wherein This

the study

attempted

to

look

into

the

factors

that

are

related

to

the

programs of the street vendors in Tarlac City.

Definition of Terms The following words or terms used in the study are hereby defined

either

lexically

or

operationally

to

provide

understanding about the study.

Ambulant:

The

street

vendors

are

able

to

walk

around;

not

confined in one place. The street vendors move from one place to another.

Consumers. Pertains to the customers of street food vendors.

Implementors: Refers to the LGU’s, specifically the government of the Tarlac City who implemented the programs regarding street vending.

LGU: Officially local government in the Philippines often called local government units or LGUs, are divided into three levels – provinces

and

independent

municipalities; and barangays.

cities;

component

cities

and

Programs: Refers to the implemented actions of the government of the Tarlac City to help improve the plight of street vendors.

Street Food: The term “street food” has been defined as “readyto-eat” foods and beverages prepared and / or sold by vendors and

hawkers,

especially

in

street

corners

and

other

similar

public places for immediate consumption.

Street Vendor: 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.

Bibliography:

Research University of Arkansas System (2016), "The Sanitation and Hygiene of Street Food Vendors." https://studymoose.com/the-sanitation-and-hygiene-of-street-food-vendors-essay

Prof. Criselda Alamo-Tonelada (2018), Sanitary Conditions Of Food Vending Sites and Food Handling Practices of Street Food Vendors: Implication for Food Hygiene and Safety http://www.ijern.com/journal/2018/March-2018/04.pdf

Online Sources Discus (2013), Philippine Street Foods http://www.travel2rp.com/street-foods.html

WEIGO (2018), Street Vendors and the Law http://www.wiego.org/informal_economy_law/street-vendors-and-law

Sharit K. Bhowmik and Debdulal Saha (2014), Overview of Street Vendors – A Little History http://nasvinet.org/newsite/overview-of-street-vendors-a-little-history/