Vendors at new Mandaue market start to pay rentals

CEBU, Philippines - Stall holders at the new Mandaue City public market will start to pay daily and monthly rentals now that the two-month moratorium on the payment of stall rentals has ended.

Earlier, the city government granted a moratorium on the payment of stall rentals and other fees to give vendors time to recover the money spent to transfer from the old public market to the new market.

Last March 9, the city treasurer’s office started collecting rentals from those who had opted to pay on a “daily basis” while stall vendors who had chose to pay on a monthly basis started paying last March 31.

City legal officer Giovanni Tianero said the issue regarding the collection of monthly payment came up at yesterday’s monthly meeting of the market authority.

He said most vendors believe that payment of rentals is to being April 9 yet.

But Section 35 of the city ordinance that governs the payment of rentals states that the rental dues for stall holders shall be assessed every 15th and 30th of each month payable within the first three days of each succeeding month.

Since the city will only give them a three-day grace period for them to pay their stall rentals, surcharges and interests will be imposed on them once they pay on the fourth day.

Due to the “misinterpretation of the city ordinance, the market authority decided yesterday to ask the city council to waive or condone the penalties supposedly to be imposed on stall vendors for delinquent payments, most of which only started paying the monthly rentals last April 9.

City market administrator Mosulini Soliva for his part said his office has started to remind stall owners yesterday that they have only three days to meet their obligation, otherwise they will accrue penalties. - THE FREEMAN