vendors, shopkeepers, and small
Vigan’s Public Market::The Commons in
the Hands of Farmers and the Poor.
In the last two or three decades,
the food sovereignty movement has
been reinventing an institution – the
farmers’ market – that has been an
institution in much of the rest of the
world for centuries. Public markets,
where local farmers and other small
vendors sell to people without much
money, are institutions that not only
serve an important social purpose, but
are structures set up by governments
in response to popular need and
pressure. That makes them part of the
public space that people often have to
struggle to protect.
Emil de Guzman, a
Filipino-American activist from San
Francisco, describes the role of the
public market in Philippine towns: In
the Philippines at the heart of any city
or town is a plaza. At the centre of all
activity is the palengke, a huge one
story structure housing the local
businesses under one roof, in
compartmentalised units buying and
selling goods and services.
“The palengke is purposely
sectioned to accommodate vendors
standing side by side selling the same
products: butchers selling meat, sellers
of fresh fish and seafood, rows of
newly harvested vegetables. All over
the coconuts vendors are sectioned off
nearby other stalls selling the garlic
and onions, then tofu, then eggs, then
mangoes, papayas, dried fish, etc.
Then nearby sections sell clothes,
cosmetics, umbrellas and the list goes
on. Thousands come to the palengke
to shop and buy/bargain at the lowest
prices.”
Vigan’s public market is just the
latest iteration of the city’s history as a
trading and market center, going back
centuries. Vigan is one of the oldest
cities in the Philippines, and was
founded by Chinese traders long
before the arrival of the Spaniards. In
the language of these migrants from
Fujian Province, the name Bi-gan
meant Beautiful Shore.
In Vigan they traded gold and
beeswax from the Cordilleras, the
mountain range that forms the spine of
Luzon, for Chinese porcelain and other
goods. The status of the Chinese
ethnic minority in the Philippines is still
controversial. The Chinese community
even established a museum in Manila,
arguing that their presence was a
crucial part of Philippine history and
that Chinese workers helped build the
country over centuries.
The Spaniards colonised the
islands, capturing Vigan in 1572, and
making it the administrative capital of
northern Luzon, called Nueva Segovia.
By then a central market here was
long established. It provided a critical
function for farmers, who brought food
into the city, and for the city dwellers
who depended on them. All over the
world similar markets have come into
being to fulfil the same function.
The current public market was
rebuilt in the years after the fall of the
Marcos dictatorship. Despite all the
changes in how food and clothing are
distributed and sold in a modern city,
the market is still a destination for
thousands of people. Its prices are
lower than most other places, and the
experience of buying something is
much more personal. In the
interactions between stall owners and
their customers, it’s clear that in many
cases people have known each other
for years.
I’ve always loved our farmers’
markets, especially ones like those in
Oakland where older Chinese women
crowd the stalls, attracted by the
market’s lower prices. I’ve often
wondered whether this institution will
still be with us in another 20 or 30
years. Walking through the public
markets of the Philippines, I can see a
way that people have been able to
institutionalise markets like it, keeping
its people-serving purpose intact.
Looking at these photographs, I can
see a little of what might be Oakland’s
future here in Vigan.
NARVACAN FARMERS MARKET
President Rodrigo Duterte on
Friday (March 4) led the inauguration
of the first-ever Narvacan Farmers
Market “described as the “largest
public market in Ilocos Sur.”
In his speech during the event,
Duterte commended local government
units and their private sector partners
for the establishment of the facility and
the “integration of a sustainable energy
source for the structure.”
“We welcome the bright hopes
and great opportunities awaiting the
businesses and consumers, not only
from the municipality of Narvacan, but
also from the other neighbouring
areas,” he said.
“The establishment of this commercial
facility is a testament to the long and
worthwhile journey that your town has
collectively endured in surpassing the
challenges that you are confronted
[with],” he added.
The President said the public market,
which is among the government’s
projects during the COVID-19
pandemic, “will revitalise our local
economy by showcasing local
products, providing more employment
opportunities, and attracting
businesses in the region.”
Narvacan Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson
said the market project is powered by
solar energy, which Duterte lauded,
hoping that it would inspire other areas
across the country to “significantly
reduce carbon emission and lessen
the reliance of fossil fuels.”
The Chief Executive, also joined
by Agriculture Secretary William Dar,
recognized the “indispensable role” of
farmers in the country’s food security
program. Duterte also said his
administration will continue working
with only a few months remaining in
his term.