Negotiations on Baguio City market dev’t to start anew with SM

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – Negotiations between the city government’s negotiating team and representatives of SM Prime holdings, Inc., the declared Original Proponent Status (OPS) for the proposed market development project, will start the 45-day negotiation process anytime to craft terms of reference for development of the public market.
    Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said he was awaiting action of the City Council on his earlier request to expand the membership of the city’s public-private partnership for the people (P4) committee for the inclusion of other respected members of the community in the negotiating team for the process to push through.
    He said after having received the council action on the matter, he will immediately issue an executive order that will expand the membership of the P4 Committee and the negotiating team so negotiation will commence right with the start of the new year.
    The city’s chief executive said the negotiating team will be composed of experts and representatives from religious, academe, market vendors among other sectors. 
    The mayor said negotiations will be transparent for people to be aware of proceedings so terms of reference will be made which will be subjected to Swiss challenge with the company granted the OPS to match the best offer.
    The present administration wants to convert the city public market into one of the most modern markets in Southeast Asia and enhance the local tourism industry.
    Earlier, the P4 screening committee awarded the OPS to Robinsons Land Corporation for implementation of the city public market development plan.
     However, the mayor created a separate evaluation committee that decided to recommend the issuance of the OPS to SM Prime holdings to allow the process to go to the negotiation stage where the committee is given approximately 80 days to complete the same.
    Interested companies willing to develop the city public market can participate when the terms of reference for the project will be opened to the Swiss challenge within a reasonable period of time to ensure the company with the best offer will be the one to be awarded the multi-billion project.
    The city planned to develop the public market in 1995 but the same was stalled by a court case that dragged until the Supreme Court (SC) that ruled on the constitutionality of the ordinance prescribing the guidelines for the market development and the validity of the derivative contract for the project.