DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Southern Mindanao condemned the altercation during a demolition of street market vendors in Bankerohan Public Market on April 29 that resulted to injuries.
The incident stemmed from a road-clearing operation along Marfori Street in Barangay 5-A that escalated into a physical confrontation.
Police said the Davao City local government’s Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) were clearing vendors allegedly occupying spaces outside designated vending zones but ended up clashing with them when they started confiscating their goods.
Videos circulating online showed the scuffle between the vendors and ASU. A woman vendor was punched unconscious by a member of the ASU, who later sustained a head wound from another vendor.
ASU head Paul Bermejo said those involved in the incident are being investigated by the police, including members of the Vendor Regulation Unit.
The injured vendors and ASU personnel were all taken for treatment.
KMU condemned the demolition of vendors as “inhumane”, noting that the demolition team’s actions show a pattern of governance that “has no empathy for the poor.”
“The conduct of the demolition team reflects a form of city governance that is harsh and lacks empathy for the poor. Vendors pay market fees every day but are not given proper stalls or spaces — and instead, their livelihoods are being taken away,” KMU Southern Mindanao spokesperson Jeffry Uypala said.
“The vendors of Bankerohan are not criminals. They are working men and women… earning an honest living to feed their families,” he said, noting that vendors regularly pay market fees but allegedly lack permanent and designated vending spaces.
The group called on the Davao City government to halt demolition operations without prior consultation and relocation, and to provide compensation to affected vendors.
The operation to clear the streets of vendors is part of the city’s broader public order campaign under D.A.V.A.O. — Discipline, Action, Virtue, Accountability, and Order.
City officials said Bankerohan has long been a focus of this enforcement due to sidewalk obstruction, traffic congestion, and unauthorized vending in one of the city’s busiest commercial areas.
They noted that vendors had previously been relocated to designated spaces, but some returned to sidewalks and roadside areas, prompting repeated clearing operations.(davaotoday.com)
