Malimgas market still operating at a loss
DON’T be deceived by its colors.
The Malimgas Public Market may seem impeccable from the outside but it continues to bleed the city coffers dry with its poor financial performance.
City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara, speaking before the city council on Tuesday, said the average collection at Malimgas Market is P1.1 million a month and P931, 000 goes to operational costs.
On top of this, T\the city still has to cover a debt service of P11.5 million quarterly to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the P45 million loan sourced for the construction of the market.
With the big shortfall in collection from stall rentals, the city is left subsidizing the Malimgas Market operations at the rate of P100,000 a day or P3 million a month.
Alcantara itemized the operational costs as P300,000 for electric consumption, P200,000 for janitorial services, P140,000; water consumption P180,000; security service, P140,000; insurance premium, P104,000 and maintenance of the escalator, P5,800.
About P500,000 of the monthly collection comes from the rental fees of stallholders within the Common Usage Service Area (CUSA).
At least 126 stalls inside the market built three years ago under the administration of Benjamin Lim, remain vacant, including 80 at the first floor and another 146 at the second floor.
At 100 percent occupancy, total collections in the first floor were projected to reach P1.1 million and another P435,000 at the second floor.
The third floor of the market was designed as pay parking area but only an average of 10 vehicles a month was noted to use it owing to the evident flaws in the building’s entry and exit points to the parking area.
“We were not able to realize any collection from there,” said Alcantara of the parking lot that has since been closed.
She admitted though that before the area was closed for parking, someone was collecting parking fees but which were not turned over to the city government.
Alcantara manifested her opposition to the suggestion of Councilor Jesus Canto, chair of the council’s committee on market, calling for the reduction of stall rentals in a bid to achieve 100 percent occupancy at the Malimgas Market.
“She recommended instead an increase in the fees being collected from CUSA from P6 to P18 per square meter per day,” suggested Alcantara, as an alternative to the proposed stall rental reduction and increase revenues.
Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, whose family owns and operates a chain of mall and supermarkets in Northern Luzon, recommended more measures to be taken immediately to reduce the market’s cost of operations.
She lauded the cost-saving measure instituted in the market by City Administrator Alvin Fernandez, particularly on water, which was costing the city government at leastP180,000 a month.
“We should cut more costs and even consider a re-zoning of the market,” the vice mayor said.
She said the policy of “Clean as You Go” must be strictly imposed on stallholders in order to reduce the high cost of janitorial service.
At the same time, City Legal Officer George Mejia said the city is also pre-terminating the contract for security service at Malimgas as another cost-saving measure.—LM
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