PURPLE APPARITION. Former mayor Vicente Emano stands out clad in the official color of PaDayon Pilipino while city mayor Oscar Moreno and 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez wore the traditional Barong. Photo by Cong B. Corrales
- Advertisement -

By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent

Centrist Democratic Party (CDP) and mayoral candidate 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is set to review the Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) contracts of the public markets in the city to “give back” its stewardship to local vendors.

- Advertisement -

Rodriguez issued a strong message during a public debate held at Atrium, Limketkai calling the incumbent administration of City Mayor Oscar Moreno and former mayor Vicente Emano of making the life of vendors miserable when they introduced foreign nationals to take control over public markets.

He wondered why local vendors pay P32 per square meter but the Chinese and Taiwanese traders only pay P8 per square meter.

Di ba ang merkado alang kanatong mga Filipino nga gusto mabuhi. Napadaplin naman hinoun ang mga vendors mao nga midaghan ang naa sa sidewalk. Ngano na unsa man kini?,” he asked.

However, Moreno said he only inherited the problem from the Emano administration way back 2013.

Moreno, a lawyer by profession, said he cannot interfere with the current BOT scheme in the public markets because these are guarded by legal and binding contracts.

Kang Dongkoy (Emano) man kini nga kalaki. Dili na nato basta-basta masudlan. Kalaki kini nila ni William Guilaini,” Moreno defended.

He admitted that he cannot do anything on the present condition of the vendors but he can instead refurbish the markets. The City Economic Enterprise Department (CEED) recently divided the 1,316 vendors at Cogon Market’s second floor into seven blocks as it introduced the re-sectioning system.

Fruit vendors are now occupying the first block; second up to fifth blocks for fruits section; sixth block for food condiments; and assorted items and products for the seventh block. The re-sectioning system is part of City Mayor Oscar Moreno’s move to introduce reforms in the operations of the city’s public markets to make these facilities attractive and conducive to the buying public.

For his part, Emano said giving way to foreign investors is part of his adminis-tration’s effort to come up with more income generating projects for the city’s coffers. He admitted that during his term they subsidized the operation of the CEED.

Mas madako na hinoun unya nahatagan ang kadaghanan nga magpakabuhi sa maong merkado,” he stressed.

The subsidy scheme has been repeatedly questioned by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the grounds that BOT projects are supposedly free of any monetary obligations on the part of the local government.

Disclaimer

Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.

- Advertisement -