Illegal market operator face charges

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday announced she is mulling the filing of possible charges against the private organizer of a makeshift market under the Luzon Avenue flyover.

In a radio interview, Belmonte said that while the organizer has permits to operate a business consultancy firm called “E-manage,” it has none for organizing some 300 vendors, who have been paying him P80 to P100 a day for the past five years.

She also revealed that the private businessman collects P10 million yearly, but only declared a gross income of P3 million and paid P45,000 in taxes last year.

The mayor said the businessman failed to appear at their supposed meeting last Tuesday.

“Today, I have a meeting with our city legal office to determine the steps that we have to take against this person,” Belmonte said, adding that she also asked the Public Works department, which has jurisdiction over the flyover, to give her some time to look for a property where the vendors could be relocated.

“I plan to take over the market, I will stop the operations of E-manage because it is illegal,” she added. “The vendors have been told not to pay rent to anyone and that I will organize them. If they would like to continue their practice, their transactions should go straight to the government.”

Belmonte said she is seeking additional details on the illegal vendors along nearby Commonwealth Avenue.