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At least three people were injured when workers from the Metro
Manila Development Authority (MMDA) demolished a makeshift
footbridge in a neighborhood of vendors in Baclaran, Parañaque, on
Friday.
Among the injured were children who bore gunshot
wound, reports said.
The bridge connected a village of Muslim vendors
just off the seawall to their stalls on Roxas Boulevard.
The MMDA said its workers were dismantling the
bridge when they were stoned supposedly by angry villagers. Security
forces who escorted the workers reportedly fired shots at the
direction of the villagers.
In a statement following the incident, MMDA
General Manager Robert Nacianceno said the agency would not stop
until all sidewalks and public areas are cleared of obstructions and
illegal vendors.
“We have been relentless in our task to put
order on our streets. The incident would not prevent us from
continuing our task,” Nacianceno said.
Bobby Esquivel, head of the MMDA’s sidewalk
clearing operations group, said he ordered his men to destroy the
wooden bridge to prevent the vendors from selling their wares on the
sidewalks.
He added that he already discussed the matter
with the Muslim elders and community leaders and told them to
refrain from putting up their stalls along the service road.
Esquivel said he heard shots coming from the
village, forcing his men to retreat to the other side of the road
and wait for back-up.
Several MMDA men also sustained minor injuries
during the clearing operation. 
--Jefferson Antiporda
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