BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong is not open to any talks with Uniwide Sales Realty and Resources Corporation.
Magalong said a letter will be sent to Justice Martin Villarama Jr., the court-appointed liquidator, informing of the non-consent of the city to assign the blotched Uniwide market development deal to a subsidiary in a move to free the city from the decades’ old deal finally allowing market development to ensue.
“We are not giving consent that the contract be assigned to any subsidiary,” Magalong said.
In the letter, the mayor said the city informs the courts there are enough funds from the local government to undertake the market development on its own.
Uniwide has failed to modernize the space despite a contract with the city and has been embroiled in a legal war between the city and market stakeholders.
The original plan approved under the lease agreement forged in 1995 provided a six-story building with a total cost of P1.7 billion with Uniwide to operate the upper floors for 30 years and the city to continue to supervise the first floor where the main market place and legitimate vendors will be housed.
Uniwide has been deemed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to be incapable of finances, thus, making it unfit to implement the city project but the city has yet to legally rescind the contract.
“We have the funds to carry out the modernization we are now working the master plan of the market with councilors Mylen Yaranon, Philian Weygan–Allan and Joel Alangsab who are working with market stakeholders to complete the master development plan,” said Magalong.
Magalong said the city plans to partner with the existing market cooperative for the modernization project which is aimed to start by the first quarter next year.
Yaranon, Allan and Alangsab has meet with market stakeholders on initial plans for zoning the area to improve and set into place development.
Under the still to be perfected market development plan, an area for loading and unloading of passengers for jeepneys has been created at the frontage to lessen traffic toward Harrison road as well as to allot space for senior citizens to sit as well as market goers to lounge in, the space will also double as a space to place the night market, if plans continue.