Here’s another option for a “Deal or No-Deal” agreement between the city hall and the city council.

This time, the proposal on the table is “Rent one, Take Two” at the almost empty second floor of the Malimgas Public Market.

This was proposed as an alternative compromise by city hall to the 50 per cent discount earlier proposed by the committee on ways and means in the Sangguniang Panlungsod and     supported by the committee on market and slaughterhouse.

When asked by Councilor Alex De Venecia to elaborate on the  ‘Rent One, Take Two’ proposal, Napoleon Nazareno, Malimgas Market administrator, said the proposal calls for a businessman to lease  one stall at  the second floor of the market on a regular basis, and he can occupy one stall for free during the months of  October, November and  December only.

The scheme was proposed during a committee hearing last Wednesday attended by stallholders of the Malimgas Public Market.

Nazareno, however, admitted the matter has yet to be approved by Mayor Benjamin Lim.

The proposal also failed to win the support of the present stallholders because the new proposal, they said, will still entail added operational expenses for them.

He said he opposes the granting of 50 percent discount to stallholders because it will mean additional burden to the city government aside from being “unfair and unjust” to ground floor stallholders.

City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara admitted that the city government is already presently subsidizing more than half of the market’s yearly amortization instead of it being self-liquidating.

The city is paying P46 million in amortization annually to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the P315 million loan for the construction of the Malimgas Market.

With a 43 percent occupancy at the second floor, the city is collecting only P537,891 per month from stallholders, or only P7.9 million yearly. Many original stallholders have returned their stalls to the city owing to poor sales and high rental.

She said that at the present occupancy level, the city is suffering a P661,169 shortfall in collection monthly and fears that the shortfall will further increase if the proposed discount is granted.

Based on the feasibility study of the market, the city should collect at least P1.4 million monthly on a projected full occupancy basis. 

Allan Zarate who represented the city mayor’s office, told the committee that granting a 50% discount to stallholders at the second floor of the market may result in class legislation which he said, is illegal, He added that it is a certainty that present stallholders in all floors will also ask for the same discount.

 Echoing the city administration’s opposition to the 50% discount, Zarate said the office of Mayor Lim is continuously looking for the right solution to the problem.

 However, Zarate said they are also planning to ask Land Bank to restructure the city’s loan and to reduce the city’s debt servicing so that it can grant a discount to present stallholders.

Nazareno said giving “stall bonus” to each stallholder is not a bad idea because it will help the stallholders earn more this coming Christmas season.

 The stallholders manifested that they prefer the granting of 50 percent discount on rental fees, which is more beneficial to them.

 “We don’t need one more stall, we just want a discount,” a woman stallholder said, adding that some stallholders are now planning to surrender their stalls because they can no longer afford the high rentals.

 Meanwhile, Eddie Cervantes, member of Dagupan Vendors Federation (MADAVFE), appealed to the city government to drive away all ambulant vendors that are giving stallholders unfair competition.

 “Nahaharang na nila yung mga customers kaya wala nang pumapasok sa loob,” wailed Cervantes.

 Butch Gutierrez, head of Anti-Hawking task force, told the committee that despite their daily campaign against ambulant vendors, the vendors still risk being arrested because of the bigger returns they expect from their hawking activities compared to the small fines being imposed.

 Arrested ambulant vendors are fined P200 each time.

 Gutierrez reiterated his earlier appeal to the city council to increase the penalty for ambulant vendors from P200 to P1, 000 to discourage them from repeatedly violating the law. – AQL

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