Baguio councilor seeks market tenants’ protection

BAGUIO CITY — A Baguio City councilor is pressing the city government to proceed with the controversial redevelopment of the Baguio City Public Market under the adopted Public-Private Partnership (PPP) modality, but only with strict, non-negotiable conditions aimed at protecting market tenants from what they fear will be “mallification.”

Councilor Jose Melencio Molintas argued that the current debate over the project’s funding structure is settled as he stressed the need to uphold consistency and respect the continuity of government decisions, pointing out that the 2020 resolution adopting the PPP remains the binding decision.

Molintas also criticized fellow councilors now opposing the concept, noting they failed to propose reconsideration during the years it was open for debate.

The councilor’s stance comes amid staunch opposition from Baguio residents and market tenants, who fear the completed redevelopment will make life harder for them due to increased rents and the failure of local businesses.

Despite Molintas’ “fundamental anti-privatization background,” which included past opposition to projects like Jadewell and Uniwide, he maintained that the city faces unavoidable fiscal realities.

He added that the City of Baguio lacks the budget to fund a market project of this magnitude on its own and cited that securing a bank loan would necessitate significantly increased vendor rentals to cover payments, an action he called counterproductive to protecting the market vendors.

Molintas also observed that a proposal from a local Cooperative Conglomerate would still result in the market effectively being privatized in favor of one specific group.

Given these realities, Molintas believes the only responsible path is to thoroughly review the outcome of the negotiation and align it with stakeholder demands. He committed to ensuring that the needs of vendors and porters are prioritized.

He demanded that the Executive Department include several non-negotiable conditions in the final agreement: a guarantee for all registered stallholders to return to the new market with their current stall size; a commitment to no increase in rentals for the first three years of operation; the provision of a viable, minimal-disruption relocation plan to guarantee continuous livelihood during construction; and priority employment with above-minimum wages for porters and “comboys” in the operational market.

To ensure the market remains a public service, Molintas also proposed operational and structural amendments to the negotiated agreement. These include excluding the actual market operations from the lease agreement to maintain city oversight and distinct legal status; expanding the market area by ten meters frontage; incorporating basement parking; and immediately starting development of the Slaughterhouse Compound as a designated relocation area, along with using the proposed seven-level city parking structure for the construction phase.

He also proposed negotiating to move the wall with Maharlika to maximize space and including a Non-Compete Clause that specifically prohibits the operation of major grocery chains within the market compound to protect small vendors.

Molintas also suggested that the city send a delegation to Iloilo to study their successful market redevelopment model, emphasizing that the review process must be used to secure the best possible outcome for the people of Baguio.