Mandaue vendors find lease at the new market costly

CEBU, Philippines - The new public market's costly rent is among the main issues raised by the vendors of the old Mandaue City Public Market in a press conference yesterday.

Officials of the Mandaue Vendors Cooperative (Mavenco), the Mandaue Vendors Association (MVA) and a representative of the carenderia section said they are willing to transfer to the new market provided the city will also address some of their concerns.

According to them that there may be a few who still oppose to the city's plan to move them to the new market at the back of the Mandaue City Sports Complex, many of them are already determined to try that new place "if the city will also accommodate some of our requests."

Meanwhile, Cristina Mosqueda, treasurer of MVA, said that most of her members are now appealing to the city government to extend the period of the lease rights at the new public market, as to them, P30,000 is expensive for the five-year lease.

There were however some who agreed to it, but asked that it should be paid in an installment basis.

Pilipinas Arresgado, president Mavenco, and Tirso Tunacao of the carenderia section also share the same appeal to the city government. They also asked that the city should waive their first three months' rent at the new market while they are still adjusting to the new environment.

Market administrator Mossolini Soliva, however, said that under the old Market Code, vendors do not have lease rights at the old public market as their rental is only on a daily basis.

However, the city has set new rules for the new market, now giving vendors a five-year term to use the stalls there. However, the lease right is set at P30,000 per stall.

Soliva explained that the new setup could also be beneficial to the vendors, as, unlike before, it already allows them to rent out their stalls to others. He also said they can also raise the rental fee if they want.

He also negated their claims that the rental at the new market is higher compared to the old one, saying that under the new Market Code, the increase is only from 5-10 percent.

As to their requests, Soliva said they will tackle them during their monthly meeting of the Mandaue City market board. -  THE FREEMAN