Middleman selling kiosks for Dinagyang foodfest busted
A festive atmosphere now engulfs downtown
Iloilo City as the Dinagyang Festival nears.
The committee on kiosks of the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) busted a modus operandi of a kiosk applicant for this year's food festival. As a result, nine applications were canceled by the committee.
Engr. Ely Bagtasus, chair of the kiosk committee, said they found out the illegal transaction between a middleman and his group of sub-applicants after one of the supposed sub-applicants made an inquiry before the committee on the exact rental fees.
Bagtasus refused to identify the middleman processing the applications. Once the application is granted, the middleman will sell each kiosk from P2,000 to P2,500. In return, the middleman gains from the transaction while it leaves a bad name to the committee. The middleman admitted the illegal transaction and apologized to the committee.
Bagtasus made it clear that the rental set by the committee is only P1,000 and another P200 as tax payment to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for the entire duration of the food festival. The committee issues receipts to whoever pays for the rental. The P1,000 covers for the electricity, garbage and disposal fee and for peace and order.
Bagtasus said he was alarmed after learning of the illegal transaction. The committee immediately called for the termination of applications identified with the "middleman." This is to prevent more illegal transactions in the future. The committee's action will serve as warning to all middlemen.
He urged applicants to go directly to the committee if they want to apply for a kiosk. Currently, only 10 percent of the total number of kiosks is available for rent. There are only 520 available kiosks for the food festival.
The 520 kiosks will be situated in Delgado, Valeria, Solis and Iznart streets and corner J.M. Basa - Guanco. There will be enough security for the rest of the food festival. Kiosk renters are adviced to get in touch with the committee if they will bring refrigerators or freezers with them to avoid power overload.
Meanwhile, the committee also set rules for the kiosk renters. Renters specifically selling liquors are prohibited to employ children less than 15 years old. In previous year, the committee noticed that young girls got drunk at the food festival area.
Bagtasus added that sellers are also encouraged to serve beer in cans not in bottles. Liquors bought in bottles should be transferred to a pitcher. No bottles should be displayed on the top of the table. The scheme is one of the preventive measures to thwart any incident.
The renters are also mandated to put a garbage bag to accommodate all their wastes. All areas should be cleaned before 6 a.m. This is to maintain cleanliness along the food festival area, said Bagtasus.