Monday, January 24, 2005

Vendor shoots MMDA worker
A member of the clearing operation of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was attacked by a pirated cd vendor last Saturday night along Aurora Boulevard, Cubao.

Concordio Baclian, 33 years old and dressed in a barong, while conducting the clearing operation, was approached by the vendor posing as a pedestrian and was shot in the lower part of his right eye.

Currently, Baclian's life is far from harm but the chances of blindness are high.

This is not the first case of violence during an MMDA clearing operation.

In 2003, sidewalk clearing casualties included MMDA employee Armando Sanchez of Tondo, who was stabbed by an incensed balut vendor in Makati.

Also, vendor Eladio Tuacar was shot dead by SPO2 Sabado Pujeda after the former fired his gun at MMDA personnel.

Last year, vendor Reynaldo Garcia admitted that he burned an MMDA Organized Bus Route office in Baclaran with three unidentified companions.

This issue is pretty serious and as long as there are hard-headed pirates out there, the number of casualties will not stop from stacking up. But the empoverished street vendors are not to blame for these. They are only driven to violence by the need to earn, by the need to survive. They are held in th clutches of poverty.

Unfortunately, so are we.

[via Inq7.net]
 @  2:40 PM

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