It strikes me as entirely out of character. This man has come to be known as the nemesis of sidewalk vendors. But now he is appealing to market administrators to allocate space in public and private markets for illegal vendors and hawkers displaced by the continuing drive of the Metro Manila Development Authority to eliminate them from the streets and sidewalks of the metropolis.

 As reported in the papers, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando is making representation with market supervisors in the local government units of Metro Manila to accommodate the vendors, who will be required to pay the usual rental.  At the same time, he is trying to convince the vendors to shift their vending activities from the sidewalks to the stalls inside the markets.

?Paying space rentals for stalls in the market is relatively much cheaper than shelling out kotong [extortion] money to mulcting cops and members of syndicates who continue to bleed them dry,? Fernando was quoted as saying.

The former mayor of Marikina City warned the vendors that the protection money they were giving to corrupt policemen or to extortion syndicates would not give them immunity from the government?s drive against illegal vending.  In fact, legitimizing their underground enterprise would save them a lot of trouble, and who knows, pave the way for expanding their business, he added.

If necessary, Fernando reportedly asked the market officials to put up more stalls to accommodate the sidewalk vendors.  He also suggested the tearing down of certain structures in the markets that were being used as sleeping quarters or warehouses so that these could be converted into space for additional stalls.

This new initiative makes me wonder whether this is a manifestation of a change of attitude and methods of the man at the helm of the MMDA.  Or whether it has anything to do with his much-touted plan to run for president under the banner of the ruling Lakas Christian-Muslim Democrats party.

The executive committee of Lakas will hold caucus at Clark, Pampanga on Thursday, Jan. 29. The party caucus is being convened by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (chairman), Speaker Prospero Nograles (president) and former President Fidel Ramos to thresh out the criteria in the selection of the party?s presidential candidate in 2010 elections. The administration party has listed six names as possible standard-bearer?Vice President Noli de Castro, Senators Richard Gordon and Ramon Revilla Jr., Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte and Fernando.

If Fernando?s rather uncharacteristic concern for the sidewalk vendors is even remotely connected to this Lakas caucus, it would indicate that contrary to the tough, I-don?t-care-what-you-think-about-me image that he has consistently projected, he may be getting uneasy about the unsavory public perception that people have of him. It could also mean that he would like to portray himself to Lakas leaders not just as an unreasonable disciplinarian and strict enforcer of the law, but that in reality, he is also a genuinely compassionate person. After all, who would want to vote for a candidate who is perceived as heartless and uncaring?

Earlier, the MMDA chairman also disclosed the availability of a P300-million fund for the construction of socialized housing units for squatters living along railroad tracks, riverbanks, shorelines and other ?danger zones.? Of this amount, P100 million is being allocated for the purchase and development of a relocation site in Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), Rizal and P200 million to build low-cost houses. Another relocation site is being eyed in San Pedro, Laguna.

 The squatter relocation program is being undertaken with the participation of private groups, local government units and other state agencies under the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee co-chaired by Fernando. The committee is targeting the removal of some 84,000 informal settlers by 2010.

Incidentally, Fernando?s proposal for the use of a mass housing technology concept for developing cities in Asia has been adopted by the 11-nation Asian Network of Major Cities 21 as a joint project of the organization. It was adopted as part of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration approved by the body during its 7th plenary meeting held recently in Malaysia. The project calls for the more advanced members of the organization to pool their resources in order to fast-track the construction of mass housing units for the poorer member-countries, at the rate of 5,000 units a day.

On the surface, Fernando?s plea for allocating space in public and private markets for sidewalk vendors and his announcement of a P300-million fund for the construction of houses for relocated squatters are two separate matters. But juxtaposed with the recent presentation of a new logo for the MMDA, and his participation in GMA-7?s Celebrity Duets?where he emerged  as the champion?there seems to be a conscious effort on the part of Fernando to project a softer, more humane personality.

Consider that the new MMDA logo shows a heart on the foreground, partly covering a sledgehammer or maso, and a creeping vine known as cadena de amor. Here is how Fernando explains the visual symbols: ?The heart is for love. It expresses our love, our concern for our constituents, for Metro Manila, for everybody.  It is also with love that we are serving our fellowmen.?

The sledgehammer, he says, represents the law and the political will that is needed for its implementation.  The direct translation of cadena de amor is ?chain of love in English or kadena ng pagmamahal in Filipino. And if you still don?t get what he means, there is the corny and mushy verbal message that unabashedly proclaims ?MMDA Labs You.?

Altogether, these events and developments seem to presage the emergence of a new Fernando. The more discerning cannot miss an intent to fuse into one desirable image the dual traits that our people have been hankering for?that of a strong-willed enforcer of law and order on the one hand, and a caring, humane person, on the other hand.

At the moment, the dominant image that has shaped up in the public consciousness is that of a stern Fernando, who whipped up public transport drivers into line, mercilessly demolished squatters? shanties, and poured kerosene on the fruits, vegetables and other wares of sidewalk vendors so nobody would buy these goods anymore. I suppose that these people who now hate him with a passion couldn?t care less whether his apparent transformation into a more compassionate public official is tinged with political undertones, or is borne out of a genuine desire to identify himself more with the people that he is sworn to serve.