Informal ambulant vendors could gain enhanced access to government services, legal protections, and designated vending areas under a proposed Magna Carta that seeks to establish a rights-based framework for regulating informal vending.

House Bill No. 10043, filed by Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on July 9, seeks to protect the rights of informal ambulant vendors while promoting public welfare, consumer protection, and health and safety standards.

The bill recognizes ambulant vending as a primary source of livelihood for many Filipinos with limited access to formal employment, capital, and other economic opportunities.

Among its key provisions are free and simplified registration, secure vending sites designated by local government units (LGUs), recognition of vendor registration across LGUs, and access to social protection programs, including social security, health care, and insurance.

HB 10043 also proposes the creation of a Local Inter-Agency Council to identify appropriate vending areas, oversee vendor protection, and ensure consultation, due process, and suitable temporary or relocation sites before vendors are displaced.

While affirming the authority of LGUs to maintain public order, safety, accessibility, and sanitation, the measure also requires them to promote social justice, protect workers’ rights, and uphold human dignity.

“Informal ambulant vendors are among the most visible but least protected workers in the informal economy,” De Lima said.

“They remain among the most vulnerable workers as they depend entirely on the income they earn each day,” she added.

The proposal comes amid renewed scrutiny of the treatment of street vendors during road-clearing operations.

During a joint Senate committee hearing on a similar measure, Sen. Erwin Tulfo criticized the confiscation of vendors’ carts and merchandise, saying the practice further burdens small entrepreneurs who often borrow money to start their businesses. 

The proposed Magna Carta adopts provisions from HB 11337, which the House of Representatives approved during the 19th Congress, and Senate Bill No. 1099 filed by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian in the 20th Congress.

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