EDSA, Pasay City — Did you know that vendors occupying footbridges and walkways at the Taft Avenue station of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) are paying as much as ₱90,000 in monthly rental fees?
This was learned from the Department of Transportation (DoTr) after it ordered the removal of the vendors following a surprise inspection by transportation secretary Vivencio 'Vince' Dizon in the area.

According to Dizon, a shopping mall connects the MRT-3 with the Light Rail Transit Line 1 at the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) station in Pasay City.

“I’ve summoned the mall’s owner to find out what happened. It’s possible that they had an agreement with the government a long time ago,” the transportation chief disclosed in radio interview.

To avoid a repeat, he said he would request the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to deploy “heavily armed” personnel in the area to prevent the vendors from returning.

“I understand them and I feel pity because they just need to earn a living, but they cannot be here,” he enthused.
Getting reactions from the vendors, some admitted they were aware that they cannot put up stalls in the area.

“We know we’re prohibited here, but we plead for some time so we can have something to eat,” one vendor cited his predicament.

Under the law, vendors are prohibited from placing their stalls in public and state-owned spaces such as footbridges.

Dizon revealed that an open letter from former state auditor Heidi Mendoza detailing her recent train experience had prompted him to conduct an inspection of the area with representatives of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority led by its Special Operations Group Strike Force chief Gabriel Go.