Market vendors of Baguio commemorated International Working Women’s Day with a demand for fair living wages and support.
Sofia Villanueva, President of the Women’s Vendors Association, shared their struggles to sustain livelihoods despite the tourist influx during the Panagbenga Festival during the “Kwentuhang Kababaihan sa Pamilihan,” on March 8.
“The impact on us here at the market is that people stop coming…we already expect that once Panagbenga starts in February. The entire month of February, we have no income—it’s a losing month,” Villanueva said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Villanueva was one of the speakers at the “Kwentuhang Kababaihan sa Pamilihan,” held at Block 4 of the Public Market. The event was also attended by women market vendors, women-led organizations, and other progressive groups.
This event was led by Innabuyog Metro Baguio to kick off Women’s Month, following this year’s global theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls.”
Rose Molina, Secretary of the Baguio Market Vendor’s Alliance Consolidated, emphasized the difficulty of competing with the “Session Road in Bloom” stalls.
“We do not really benefit during Panagbenga… when you go to Session Road, you’ll see stalls coming from different places, it’s like we are not even promoting Baguio anymore,” Molina expressed in a mix of Filipino and English.
Session Road in Bloom is an annual week-long event usually held from February to early March to highlight the Panagbenga Festival. This year’s celebration featured over 400 stalls offering a diverse range of products—including food and clothing—alongside various services and performances.
During this season, the city experiences extreme congestion due to a massive influx of tourists, which is further intensified by the Session Road in Bloom event.
Jocelyn Bitao, another market vendor also echoed similar issues regarding the rising costs of business permit, rent, and taxes, especially that she is a breadwinner of her family.
“They should promote us [local] vendors because, of course, we do not earn anything when they start opening [the stalls] in Session. We are left with almost no [buyers] to sell our goods to,” she also added in Filipino.
Innabuyog Metro Baguio and other women-led organizations also called for the removal of the proposed 12% Value-Added Tax (VAT) increase on goods and services amid the ongoing economic crisis. Tuesday Javar and Kyla Macapanas/UP Baguio Interns