City market construction up; CA rules it is legal

By Paul Rillorta

BAGUIO CITY – The long overdue development of the Baguio public market will soon be realized in this mountain resort.

This is how Mayor Mauricio Domogan sees it after the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Baguio Branch 59 rendered on June 28, 2007 dismissing civil cases filed against Baguio City officials.

The mayor said the market which is supposed to be a show window of the city will soon undergo total development so I would be at par with developed cities.

“The city government has already started needed rehabilitation works for Block 3 and 4 due to its dangerous and dilapidated state. Our public market is really problematic and needs to be developed as soon as possible,”

The city council earlier enacted Ordinance 38, series of 1995 that provided guidelines for development of the market and was approved by Mayor Domogan on June 22, 1995.

The essence of the ordinance was for the general welfare for city inhabitants who opted for a design-build-lease (DBL) scheme.

Domogan said, the public market which covers more or less three hectares will be developed phase by phase to minimize losses of vendors during major construction.

Vendors who will be affected during the market development will be relocated at the Slaughterhouse compound on a temporary basis and will not pay rent.

‘It is for the general welfare of the public, we have to understand that we are a highly urbanized city and the city market should be one of our highlights in tourism and commerce,’ Domogan said.

The mayor also said the rehabilitated Blocks 3 and 4 will be the last to be touched as there are more areas of the city market which need immediate attention.

“Hopefully, we can move on with the development, as are already behind comparing to other public markets of other cities,” Domogan said.