Vendors at the Burgos Public Market in Bacolod City were given until Monday, May 27, to submit their concerns regarding the proposed renovation of the market, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Tuesday, May 21.
Benitez, who held a meeting with the officials of the vendors association at Burgos Public Market on May 20, said the city government has already allotted P525 million for the renovation of the Burgos Public Market, which is part of the P4.4 billion approved loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
He said he asked the vendors if they were willing to renovate the market or not.
“I gave them one week to get everything on board. If they are not willing to renovate the market, I will not force them, and I will transfer the budget to another project,” he added.
Benitez earlier presented the design of the new Burgos Public Market to the vendors, however, some of them questioned the renovation of the market since they had just earlier transferred inside the market after it was partially renovated by the previous administration.
“We are in the same boat to improve the market; we already have the funding, so what do we do now? I wanted this to be a model in the country that we have a Bacolod public market that we are proud of,” Benitez said.
The City Engineer’s Office has earlier submitted the proposed design for the Burgos Public Market, which can accommode approximately 726 stalls across various sections, including dry goods and stores, vegetables, meat, fish, food court, and night market stalls.
If all requirements are complied with, construction is slated to commence in July or August this year.
Benitez said the officials of the vendor association also promised to explain to their members the objective of renovating the market, and then they will return on Monday to submit their comments.
He said it was proposed that during the renovation, the vendors would temporarily occupy the streets in the area so they could continue their livelihood.
The mayor noted that if the project does not materialize, he has already received at least 1,000 requests to transfer the funds to another project.
Benitez said they can transfer the budget for the renovation of Libertad, or Central public markets.
“The three major public markets should be the iconic commerce of the city because that is the area where our vendors are located,” he said.*