08/09/2026
STATEMENT ON THE CONTINUING HARASSMENT AGAINST ILOILO BOLANTEROS
Since April 2026, our Ilonggo bolanteros have faced continuing harassment, intimidation, confiscation, and threats of arrest. They are among the primary victims of the privatization of our public markets, forced to bear the consequences of a system that prioritizes commercial interests over the livelihood of ordinary vendors.
With SM now managing our supposed “public” market, bolanteros have been subjected to continuous clearing operations and forced to move from one location to another under the so-called “market days” system. In the process, the goods they depend on for their livelihood have been confiscated. One bolantero was even filed with trumped-up charges last August 18, based on allegations that he threatened a government officer with a knife.
The harassment has continued. On September 5, a clearing operations team took the key to a bolantero’s tricycle while it was loaded with fruits and vegetables. The vendor was brought to a police precinct and threatened with arrest. He was not detained because he asserted his innocence, but his key was still not returned. Several other bolanteros also had their goods confiscated that day and the following day. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a continuing pattern of treating vendors as problems to be removed rather than workers whose livelihoods must be protected.
The Panay Consumers Alliance (PCA) strongly condemns this continued harassment and unjust treatment of our bolanteros. For a city that prides itself on championing human rights, it is deeply ironic that when vendors assert their right to livelihood, the response of the city government is confiscation, intimidation, and threats of arrest.
We demand that the city government stop the harassment and confiscation of vendors’ goods, end the threats of arrest, listen to the demands of the bolanteros, and provide them with a permanent, accessible, and secure space where they can earn a living. The Iloilo City Government must choose whose interests it will defend: the private interests that profit from our markets, or the Ilonggo workers and consumers who depend on them.
Stand with our bolanteros!
09/08/26