Market vendors to renew contract with city

MORE than 3,000 market vendors occupying stalls in the city’s seven public markets will have to renew their lease contract with the City Government starting January 2013.

City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said that he wanted Local Economic Enterprise chief Vincent de la Cruz to review the lease contracts of stall occupants, some of whom were reportedly not paying their rental for over 20 years.

The seven public markets operated and managed by the City Government are the small and big markets in the districts of Jaro, a public market each in the district of La Paz, Mandurriao and Arevalo, and two in the city proper which are the terminal supermarket and the central public market.

Mabilog said he was informed that most stall occupants are not the original ones listed in the contract but are sublease of the original occupants, which Mabilog said must be stop since the original vendors are not allowed to sublease the market stall.

Mabilog said he is going to ask the City Council to pass a measure in giving authority for him to sign a new market stall lease contract with the actual occupants and renewable every year. This way, the rights of the subleases will be protected by having their own juridical personality protected by the contract.