THE burning of stalls at some sections of the Baguio City market not only turned to ashes the old structures but also opened a can of worms for those who want to return.

The subdivision of stalls is a practice allowed by the City Government through issuance of a council resolution. Business permits have subsequently been issued to beneficiaries of subdivided stalls.

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Now the Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) is in the process of re-allocating the stalls with uniform sizes, and leaseholders are crying foul over this plan.

With this new scheme, leaseholders who used to rent stalls bigger than the uniform size of five square meters will have smaller stalls, while beneficiaries of subdivided stalls who were then issued business permits "for humanitarian reasons" will not be allocated stalls.

The BPMA decided that only the original 50 lessors would be allowed to occupy the renovated stalls at the sari-sari section. Stalls 220, 249 and 250 have been subdivided into two each, making the stalls number to nine (three original and six subdivisions).

After renovation, 56 stalls have been built but with the BPMA's decision of awarding stalls to only the original lessors, some groups complained.

One of the affected stallholders, Tess Trinidad, asked: "If compassion were to be applied selectively to only 50, what would be the BCMA's yardstick to determine who among the leaseholders will be awarded stalls? Would the dead and those abroad, or no longer residing in the city but whose names still appear on the list of registered leaseholders be given priority over us with '-A, -B, -C's' who are actually present in the market? What about those who have neither certificates of awards or lease contracts? Or those who only recently acquired their rights to a stall compared to some of us who have been in the market for more than 16 years?"

Trinidad said the same system happened in other sections of the market but section leaders were able to remedy this.

Affected vendors on Tuesday trooped to the City Council asking permission for them to be allowed to occupy the renovated stalls.

The City Legal Office has offered three options, one is to allow occupation of the 50 stalls and the remaining six will undergo adjudication by the BCMA.

Another is to allow the use of the 56 stalls, including those rejected earlier by the BCMA, and last is to terminate all contracts, declare all stalls vacant and have them all bid out.

Affected vendors immediately rejected the last proposal.

After a lengthy deliberation, the council decided to allow all leaseholders to occupy all 56 stalls.

The "vacant" stalls have been raffled off also to the six affected leaseholders. The vendors could start occupying the renovated stalls today.

The renovated sari-sari, vegetable and tobacco sections were supposed to be opened on September 1.