City vendors stand to lose stalls

MORE than 200 vendors in public markets in Cebu City may lose their stalls as they failed to renew their lease contracts with City Hall.

City Market Administrator Raquel Bohol-Arce said she will recommend to the City Market Authority to close and declare vacant 219 stalls in public markets in Pasil (Phase 1 and 2), Ramos, T. Padilla, Carbon (Unit 1, 2, 3), Freedom, Pardo and Mango Trade.

Arce said vendors at the Taboan Public Market are not included in the list because of the ongoing improvement of the building. She said only 50 of the almost 400 vendors at Taboan have undertakings or temporary occupancy permits and the rest have expired contracts.

Arce said the renewal of contracts of lease of Taboan vendors will be taken care of once the renovation of the market building is completed.

The city market administrator clarified, though, that the vendors continue to pay rent to the City Government.

Of the 1,834 stalls housed in 10 public markets in Cebu City, only 1,210 (or about 66 percent) have renewed lease contracts while 458 have undertakings.

Arce said they will wait for the amendatory ordinance of the City Market Code to be approved before conducting a bidding for the vacant stalls.

She said Councilor Raul Alcoseba, who chairs the committee on markets in the City Council, sponsored the amendatory ordinance.

The city market administrator said the measure seeks to legitimize the bidding of rights of the vacant stalls in the public markets.

“Some vendors sell their rights and we want to stop that by legitimizing it,” Arce said.

She said the City can earn more revenues once the code is amended, adding that her office has promised to help the City Treasurer’s Office meet its target collection of P5.2 billion this year.