I love the poor, or those pretending to be, don’t you?I mean, they seem to have the best of both worlds. They get to play the role of the downtrodden and gain the sympathy of the general public and yet they can afford the luxuries of life like a nice roof over their head or a vehicle to ferry them to and from their place of work.Just look at the majority of vendors at the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City who oppose the ongoing project to improve and upgrade the facility.I don’t see any gaunt faces or emaciated figures. In fact, most of them look well-fed and healthy.Then again, I’m not saying “all” because there are those who actually eke a living. And let me bet you they don’t mind seeing their condition improved.Remember Manila Mayor and presidential bet Isko Moreno when he decided to clear the sidewalks of vendors and retake the city’s streets, which may have prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to do the same nationwide?You would think that Isko, of all people, would have their interests at heart having grown up scavenging and living his early life among them. But no. Instead he disclosed what many Filipinos didn’t know and that is many market vendors actually earn a good living. So we needn’t take pity on them or feel sorry for them.And let me go out on a limb here. How many of them do you think pay their taxes? None of them issue receipts. So the government can’t keep tabs on their earnings.I should know. I go to Carbon at least once a week to purchase vegetables because the prices at groceries are just too exorbitant, which is why I have supported this “modernization” project from the start.I don’t give a flying hoot who implements it. I just want Carbon to be a pleasant experience where everything is in order and I don’t have to wonder what I stepped on or worry where I stepped in. Is that too much to ask?Why do the rest of us have to suffer just so they can hang on to their oh-so lucrative status quo?Let’s face it. They’ve had the run of the market for so long they don’t want to relinquish control. Because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?Under the new proposal, the government will finally know how much they earn and can tax them accordingly. Or something like that. And they don’t want that to happen. In the meantime, the public continues to suffer.Go figure.