Filipinos who earn a living selling goods on sidewalks, in markets, and across other public spaces would gain formal legal recognition and a clearer path to state support under a measure now pending before the House of Representatives.
The proposal, House Bill No. 10043, was lodged on July 9 by Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima, who also serves as House Senior Deputy Minority Leader. It carries the title of a Magna Carta of Informal Vendors and aims to balance vendors’ rights with broader concerns such as consumer protection, public welfare, and standards for health and safety, according to GMA News.
At the center of the measure is a registration system that vendors could access for free and with minimal red tape. The bill would require local governments to set aside secure vending locations and to honor a vendor’s registered status even when they operate across different local government units. Those covered would also be brought into the reach of social protection schemes, including health care, insurance, and social security coverage.
De Lima grounded the proposal in the day-to-day insecurity that street sellers contend with. “Informal ambulant vendors are among the most visible but least protected workers in the informal economy. Kaakibat ng pagtitinda sa lansangan, parke, palengke at iba pang mga pampublikong lugar para maitaguyod ang pamilya, araw-araw silang nakikipagsapalaran sa kawalan ng katiyakan sa pwesto, puhunan at kita, pati na sa kawalan ng access sa suporta ng gobyerno,” she said.
She pointed to the precariousness of livelihoods that hinge entirely on a single day’s takings. “They remain among the most vulnerable workers as they depend entirely on the income they earn each day. May mga pagkakataon na katiting o wala silang kinikita, lalo na kung pinapalayas sila sa pwesto na wala namang lilipatan. Mayroon ding mga namomroblema sa mahal na upa sa pwesto, at nababawasan pa ang kita dahil sa ibinabayad na lagay para payagang makapagtinda. Ang masaklap, may mga araw pang kinukumpiska ang kanilang benta,” she said.
To administer these protections at the ground level, the bill would create a Local Inter-Agency Council. That body would be tasked with mapping out suitable areas for vending and safeguarding vendors from arbitrary removal, requiring consultation, due process, and the provision of temporary or relocation sites before anyone is displaced.
The bill’s text frames vending as an economic lifeline rather than a nuisance. “For many Filipinos, particularly those with limited access to formal employment, capital, and other livelihood opportunities, ambulant vending remains a primary means of supporting themselves and their families,” the measure read.
De Lima has noted that her version draws on House Bill 11337, which cleared the chamber during the 19th Congress, along with Senate Bill No. 1099 authored by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian in the 20th Congress. Comparable proposals in the current Congress have come from Representatives Jernie Jett Nisay, Bryan Revilla, Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Ramon Jolo Revilla III, as well as Senator Camille Villar.
