THE City Government of Bacolod will validate the lists of the stall owners at the three major public markets in the city, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, August 8, 2022.
A dialogue with the market vendors was held at the Bacolod Government Center on Saturday, August 6, to address the original awardees and the non-original awardees, and abandoned stalls that were occupied by the vendors.
"They will be given a letter of recognition that they are occupying the market stalls, they will then be validated if they will be given the contract of lease or not," he said.
At the meeting, it was determined that no new contract of lease has been issued to the market vendors at the Burgos Public Market, Central Public Market and Libertad Public Market.
Councilor Celia Matea Flor, chairman of the city council's committee on markets and slaughterhouse, earlier said that it is supposedly renewed every two years but since the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic struck in 2019, the city was not able to renew the contract.
She said the last time that the City Government issued a contract of lease was in 2017.
But all will be renewed because the local market committee will review their qualifications based on the existing market ordinance, she also said.
As of June 2022, the delinquent rentals reached P34 million, including the vendors at the Manokan Country situated beside SM City Bacolod at the city's Reclamation Area.
Of the amount, 4.6 million is from Central Market, P11.2 million from Burgos Public Market, P9.6 million from Libertad Public Market, and P8.6 million from Manokan Country.
Meanwhile, Benitez said the City Government is also planning to organize the supply chain or the vegetables supply from the farm to the markets.
He said the vegetables from the farm should be delivered directly to the markets with no middle men involved to ensure that its price will not increase.