Manila, July 16 -- Government agencies on Thursday supported simpler and more flexible registration rules to bring ambulant vendors into the formal economy without compromising consumer safety, sanitation, and public order.

The Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo, tackled Senate Bills 1099 and 1221, which seek to establish a Magna Carta for Informal Ambulant Vendors.

The measures were filed by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Senator Camille Villar, respectively, and would protect vendors' rights to livelihood, humane working conditions, social protection, workplace security, and access to justice.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Assistant Secretary Julie A...