Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Tuesday, December 5, that the Burgos Public Market will be fully renovated.
Benitez said that the renovation of the Burgos Public Market that will start next year will have an allocation of P525 million, which is part of the P4.4 billion approved loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
He said they already finalized the design of the new Burgos Public Market and it was also presented to the vendors.
“We will have a brand-new Burgos Public Market with a total of 938 stalls from an existing 740 stalls,” he added.
Earlier, some vendors questioned the renovation of the Burgos Public Market since they had just earlier transferred inside the market after it was partially renovated by the previous administration.
In 2021, the DBM approved P150 million worth of assistance for Bacolod City for the improvement and rehabilitation of its three major public markets.
Of the amount, Central Public Market, Libertad Public Market, and Burgos Public Market have an allocation of P50 million each.
Benitez said as part of the design of the new Burgos Public Market, it will include the public utility jeepney terminal in the middle of the market.
He said it’s a two-storey building and it will have a parking space on the second floor and a food court.
He added the vendors will temporarily transfer to a vacant lot in Barangay 19, just across the market, owned by the Yanson family.
Benitez noted that they are now finalizing the documents for the rental of the area so they can transfer the vendors immediately.
Moreover, Councilor Celia Matea Flor, chairperson of the City Council committee on markets, said she already held a meeting with the vendors and they agreed to transfer to a vacant lot in Barangay 19.
She said it was also discussed that the rental rate would possibly increase once they occupied their stalls at the new Burgos Public Market.
“Currently, the existing rental rate at Burgos Public Market is not advantageous to the city government,” she added.
After the Burgos Public Market, the city government is also planning to renovate the two other major public markets, the Libertad and Central public markets.*