Vendors: Don’t increase stall rent beyond 200%

CEBU, Philippines - Dealers at the Taboan Public Market Dried Fish Dealers and Pasalubong Center are asking for the Cebu City government not to go beyond 200 percent of the current rate of their stalls in its plan to increase the rental rate.

Last month, the dealers received a notice from the market authority that the city government wants to increase the rental rate of the stall in Taboan per square meter.

The city is proposing to increase the rate to P30 per square meter from the current P2 per square meter or an increase of 1,400 percent. The dealers said the proposed rate is too high.

Meanwhile, for secondary stallholder, the city wants to increase the rate to P25 per square meter from the current rate of P1.50 per square meter or an increase of 1,567 percent.

“A perusal of the said proposed increase on the rental rates of the market stalls shows that the rate is too high – if not totally prohibitive… in the light of the foregoing, we most respectfully pray and beg for your kind understanding,” the dealers said in a letter.

They also emphasized that the city has been considered a landmark by itself because of the attention it is getting from tourists.

“The dried fish market in Cebu City has become a byword by our local and foreign tourists and the Taboan Market has become a landmark and has placed city in the map of tourist destinations in this part of the country because of the famous “danggit” dried fish,” they said.

During a public hearing last week, several groups of market vendors opposed the proposed measure for  a new market code, which stipulates higher rental rates.

“Dili namo kaya ang gidak-on sa bayranan. Daghan usab mi bayronon nga fees sama sa entrance fee nga nagkantidad og P60 per bundle sa buwak nga kolektahon sa barangay (We cannot afford the huge fee. We are also paying other fees, like the entrance fee of P60 per bundle of flowers that Barangay Pasil is collecting),” said Jaime Oka of the Freedom Traders Multipurpose Cooperative.

The ordinance to institute the Cebu City Market Code of 2014 was proposed by Councilor Arvin Arcilla to repeal Ordinance No. 1486 or the Revised Market Code of 1993.

Arcilla said he wants the measure passed to regulate the establishment, classification, administration and operation of both government and privately-owned and operated markets within the city.

If the ordinance is passed, stalls at the Carbon Public Market complex sections, Freedom Park Public Market, Pardo Public Market, and Taboan Public Market, will be affected by the rate. —/JMO (FREEMAN)