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Thursday, August 08, 2002
Oro City Council okays Bulua market rates
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
AFTER a 45-minute row and a five-minute recess the City Council finally decided on the new rates for the Bulua Integrated Westbound Terminal and Public Market (BIWTPM) during their regular session last Monday.
The council approved the P16 per square meter daily rate for all rentable spaces at the terminal and market area. They are also imposing a P50 rate for every bus departure and a P10 rate for every Public Utility Jeepney (PUJ) departure.
The rates for bus and PUJ departures were immediately adopted except for the rentable spaces that were pegged at P480 per square meter a month.
Councilor President Elipe said the rates are "very exorbitant" and added there was no consultation done before the rates were passed on to Mayor Vicente Emano.
"Mas-mahal pa unya ang atong Bulua Public Market kaysa Gaisano, Limketkai and ang umaabot nga SM mall (The rates at the Bulua Public Market is higher than that of Gaisano, Limketkai and the soon to open SM mall)," Elipe said.
He said Gaisano Mall collects only P300 per square meter a month while Limketkai charges P200 per square meter a month including the new Site Avenue.
The soon to open SM Mall charges P400 per square meter a month.
Compromise solution
The Bulua management authority for terminals and public markets chairperson Councilor Michelle Tagarda then said the P16 per day rate is even lower than those charged at the Cogon and Carmen markets.
"According to the 1994 Codified Ordinance the rates at Cogon public market alone is pegged at P19.26 per square meter per day which is much lower than the P16 per square meter per day," she said.
She said they have taken into consideration such factors as the loan repayment and the structure being in a "world-class" state.
Councilor Reynaldo Advincula later objected to allowing Dunkin Donuts to lease a 20-square meter space at the Ground Floor right wing of the Bus Terminal and another 5-square space at the PUJ Terminal Building.
Advincula cited his more than 10-year experience as a public market vendor in insisting that it won't be good to have a plush food outlet in a public terminal during its launching.
The parrying between the four councilors continued for almost 45-minutes after which Councilor Alvin Calingin asked for a five-minute recess to discuss matters "off-the-air" with Vice-Mayor John Elizaga.
Councilor Edgar Cabanlas later ended the arguments by proposing a compromise solution. He said the council should approve the rates on the condition that they can be changed once it doesn't work out.
More competitive
"The survival of the Westbound public market depends on the capacity of the City Council to adopt," he said.
He pointed out that since the rates came from the Mayor's Office this would mean "everything has ben studied and reviewed/"
But Councilor Elipe, owner of Elipe Parkm, which rents spaces said the P16 per day rate was computed at a 15 year period of rate return which is also the same period covered for the loan payment.
"But every businessman would tell you that nobody can really get back everything including paying the loan at a 15 years term," he said.
Since a building investment can last for 30-40 years, Elipe suggested that the government should "somehow find ways to make the rates more competitive."
He said after the 15-year loan term the city will be raking in income from the same investment.
He also said the BIWTPB rates should not be based on it being a "world class" structure since the people doing business there would be those below the average income bracket.
For this, Elipe then moved for the review of all the rates in public markets.
Tagarda however said it's unnecessary since the initial rate for the BIWTPB was even higher than the P16 per square meter per day rate. l |
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