From thriving market to a dusty road: Displaced Dumaguete vendors call for better relocation plans

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Nearly a year after being displaced to pave the way for the rise of Negros Oriental Medical City, vendors of Tabo sa Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) are clamoring for a clear government plan for their relocation amid lost sales and safety concerns.

Tabo is Bisaya for a traditional Filipino marketplace where farmers directly sell their fresh produce to consumers.

In July 2025, more than 200 members of the Tabo sa PAO Farmers Association were transferred from the bustling roadside of E.J. Blanco Drive to an obscure location in Barangay Piapi, Dumaguete City.

According to Edgar Dagooc II, provincial tabo coordinator, the old Provincial Agriculturist Office compound, which housed the market since 2004, was demolished to make way for the two-hectare Medical City project.

Due to this, the Provincial Agriculturist Office and its nursery seed farm were moved to the Negros Oriental Perdices Memorial Coliseum, while the market was moved beside the Hall of Justice.

What was once an accessible market is now tucked along a three-meter-wide dusty road with limited space.

Losing its place

Esterlita Mamac, president of the farmers’ association, said accessibility and lack of parking have become major problems for buyers, especially their suki (regular customers).

The market previously served as a go-to wholesale and retail hub for agricultural produce from municipalities such as Santa Catalina, Valencia, Sibulan, Pamplona, San Jose, and Canlaon City.

There are around 210 vendors but Mamac estimated only about 40 tables are available in the new site, forcing some to leave their harvests with other sellers.

She said this impacted her sales which dropped by as much as 50% in 2025.

“Halos dali-dalion og pagpamalit. Ang uban mamauli na lang kay wala’y parking space,” she added.

(Customers now rush their purchases, or leave altogether when they find no place to park.)

Because of slower sales, vendors like 76-year-old Ceding Silorio said they have been forced to lower their prices.

“Kay nihinay man gyud ang benta, paus-os pud mi. Imbes namaligya mi ani’g P80, karon P70 […] Naa pay muhangyo, P60. Paubos, para mahalin,” Silorio said.

(Since sales have slowed, we have also lowered our price. From P80, prices drop to P70, sometimes even P60, just to sell it.)

Aside from the immediate effects of their displacement, vendors also raised safety concerns due to the ongoing construction beside them.

Silorio recalled an incident last March when a metal pipe fell near her stall, alarming vendors closest to the site.

“Magtrabaho pa sila magabie, sige’g kagul-kol. Dili mi katulog dayun kay hangtod alas 10 sila magtrabaho,” she lamented.

(They also work during nighttime, I hear sounds. We cannot sleep because they work until 10 pm.)

Dagooc confirmed no one was injured and said they coordinated with the Provincial Engineering Office and Philsouth Corporation to install barrier nets.

Relocation plans

In August 2025, Governor Manuel Sagarbarria announced plans to permanently relocate vendors to a 7,700-square-meter lot near Metro Dumaguete Diversion Road in Barangay Batinguel.

Mamac said vendors were informed of the proposal only in October during a consultation meeting and have yet to receive clear updates since then.

“Wala may klaro og asa gyud. Mag-alagad ra man gud mi sa gobernador og balhinon mi’g dili kay kani dili man gud ni para amoha gyud,” she said.

(It’s not yet clear where exactly. We are just waiting for the governor to decide whether we will be transferred or not, since this place is not really ours to begin with.)

Provincial Agriculturist Emmanuel Caduyac confirmed that the relocation has no timeline yet as the provincial government is still negotiating land acquisition. and processing documents with the City Assessor’s Office.

“[The proposed permanent relocation is a] strategic area. Residents from Sibulan, Valencia, and Dumaguete will pass there while going to their homes from [the] north. It’s along the highway, so very accessible to the buyers,” Caduyac added.

Still, Silorio expressed fear that their suki may not follow them to Barangay Batinguel, which is almost four kilometers away from the city proper.

“Mas gusto ko diri (within the city) kay wala man mi kasiguruhan anang Batinguel og naa mi customer. Wala man mi kabalo pa og unsay sitwasyon didto o kung magkita pa ba mi,” she said.

(I prefer it here within the city because we are not sure if we will have customers at Batinguel. We don’t know what the situation is there or if we will see our customers again.)

However, Dagooc said the larger site could solve parking issues and attract more customers passing through the diversion road from nearby towns such as Valencia and Sibulan.

“Bason unta og ma-materialize na tong area sa Batinguel kay dako man gyud to og area didto. So if ma-lugar nana sila didto, naa’y saktong ka-parkingan ang mga customers,” he said.

(It would be great if the area in Batinguel would be materialized because it is a really big area there. So if they will be transferred there, customers would have proper parking space.)

He also vowed to coordinate with the municipalities’ agricultural technicians to promote the new area.

“Magsugod gyud ta sa hinay-hinay hangtod magkakusog na siya. Magamit nato ning Facebook ug social media sa pag-advertise ana na dapita,” he said.

(We’ll start slowly until it gets known. We’ll use Facebook and social media to advertise that place.)

Selling with risk

While the permanent relocation of the tabo vendors is still pending, 69-year-old market vendor Marcionilia Orcullo hopes that the new area will be more accessible to customers.

“I hope na kana among balhinan, maayo ra, na dili pud malayo sa siyudad. Kanang naa ra puy muadto ra pud. kay og sulodnon, wala gyud. Kaming mga mag-uuma, wala gyud makaluluoy ra,” she said.

(I hope that the place we will transfer to is good and not too far from the city. Somewhere that people still visit. Because if it’s indoors, nothing will happen. We, farmers, are truly pitiful.) – Rappler.com

Kean Bagaipo is a Mover and student journalist based in Dumaguete City.