Bacolod Councilor Alex Paglumotan yesterday said the city government is preparing a comprehensive plan for the development of the public markets, including the Vendors Plaza , in Bacolod City .

He said the Burgos Public Market will be transformed into the new Central Market of Bacolod City because of its proximity to the Bacolod City Government Center , which is due to open within the first half of 2008. This is based on the concept of the City Planning and Development Office, he said.

Paglumotan also said the development of the Burgos Market will be a joint venture of big market vendors in Manila and they are expecting a new economic boom in the area.

The CPDO has also plans for the Libertad and Central Public Markets, he said.

The Vendors Plaza , which has outgrown its purpose because of the opening of SM City at the reclamation, will either remain as is or be transformed into a multi-business market through a Build-Operate-Transfer scheme, according to the proposal of the CPDO, Paglumotan said.

This can be availed of by small scale and medium entrepreneurs in the city like the market traders in Manila , he said.

Paglumotan said the public markets are supposed to be self-gaining, self-regulating and self-sustaining. However, the public markets in the city are practically losing, he said, and the city has collectibles of about P30 million.

He said the Mayor has allocated P1.5 million for the rehabilitation and lighting of the Manokan Country. The Mayor has also requested the stall owners to restore the Manokan Country to its original concept of a “fiesta-like” ambiance, he added.

Meanwhile, Paglumotan said the new slaughterhouse in Brgy. Handumanan will become operational by March. He was told by the architect of AVM Bernardo last month that they would conduct mechanical test run of the facility in December, he said.

Despite the fact that the memorandum of agreement between the city and AVM Bernardo is a done deal, Paglumotan said the committee is trying to look for other options to help those from Brgy. 35 who will be displaced by the operation of the new slaughterhouse. He said they can not cancel the MOA since this will entail many legal battles.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the slaughterhouse was constructed in 1999 yet during the term of former Bacolod Rep. John Orola. The two previous administrations before him failed to have it operate, he said, so in the 2004-2007 administration the MOA was finally completed.

“It was a marathon to have the operation of the slaughterhouse start,” Leonardia said. Now that the MOA is done, they will have to start all over again if they give in to the demands of those opposing the transfer of the slaughterhouse to Handumanan, he said.*CGS

back to top