Roadside vendors take advantage of loopholes in laws

Amid efforts to ensure that they are complying with the regulations, the CNMI government is still helpless in running after illegal roadside vendors because the law is vague in governing their operation.

Rep. Oscar Babauta has asked the Joint Task Force on Roadside Vendors led by the Department of Commerce to submit its recommendations to the Legislature on what changes must be carried out after reviewing the statutes and regulations. The agencies include the Revenue and Taxation Division, Alcohol and Beverage and Tobacco Control Division, Bureau of Environmental Health.

“Until we get their recommendations, the legislature would not know what changes to make because they are the ones in charge of enforcement,” said Babauta.

The issue regarding the operation of roadside vendors came up again after the Department of Public Health led by Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez conducted surprise inspections of vendors, many of whom were found selling food without the necessary health certificates.

Villagomez expressed dismay after learning that the vendors can actually sell anything because the current law does not specify what food items cannot be sold to the public. He ordered the confiscation of eggs since these must be kept at a certain cool temperature to prevent the contamination of bacteria. They were later on destroyed to prevent consumption.

Some 80 percent of the 29 roadside vendors licensed to conduct business in the CNMI are locals. However, vendors regularly seen operating are mostly Chinese and Koreans. These roadside vendors sell vegetables, meat, apples, bananas, eggs and even alcohol and cigarettes.

Cheating

Selling fruits and vegetables was actually a practice in the Northern Marianas by local farmers many years ago as they roam around the neighborhood to sell their excess harvest.

But many have expressed surprised that the roadside vendors are actually selling more than just perishable items, which are not permissible under the roadside business license policy. A roadside vendor can apply for a business license for $55.

According to Andrew Salas, administrator of Alcohol Beverage Control Office, the vendors are actually earning $400 to $500 a night but they are not correctly reporting their earnings to the finance department.

Aside from cheating on the government on the amount of taxes that they should pay, the operation of these roadside vendors is unfair to supermarkets, which employs a lot of people, pays electricity and taxes.

An investigation conducted by the task force last February and March revealed that many roadside vendors on board their pick up trucks do not have business license, health certificates, cash register, expired car registration, without sanitation permit, no I.D., among others.

“There’s really nothing we can do because the regulations and statutes do not specify a lot of things. All we can do right now is implement some band aid measures,” said Salas.

The following are the recommendations outlined by the task force to address the problems:

• Put the roadside vendors in one location, like a flea market;

• Increase fees;

• Sell only locally grown produce;

• Must possess tax I.D number;

• Guest worker should not be allowed to operate and own a roadside vendor business;

• Redefine “roadside vendor”;

• Centralize all permitting agencies in one location to facilitate friendly and efficient permitting process that will benefit investors as well as avoid unnecessary delays;

• Standardize tracking system that could be implemented to assist the regulating agencies identify potential problems/or cite violators of the CNMI statues;

• No licenses issued from either Rota or Tinian be permitted to sell in Saipan municipality;

• Department of Finance must play a key role in monitoring the activities of vendors since business licensing is now with that office;

• Must not operate within 200 ft away of any retail store; and

• Must possess health certificate and attend food preparation class.