Residents in an area in Barangay Bagong Silang in Caloocan—the country’s biggest barangay—are divided over the city government’s plan to build a public market in the area over concerns about its accessibility and sanitation.
“When we initially presented the plan to the residents, they were divided on whether to allow the project to go on or not,” Councilor Anna Karina Teh of the first district told the Inquirer, referring to the public hearing conducted last month.
Among those opposed to the plan to build a public market in Phase 2, one of the 10 districts in Barangay Bagong Silang, were the local tricycle operators and drivers association and a group of health workers concerned about sanitation problems.
“Some residents also opposed the idea because in the past, there was a public market built here but it was far from the center of town so it was more expensive to go there,” Teh said.
According to the National Statistics Office, Bagong Silang is the largest barangay in the Philippines in terms of land area and population. The barangay covers 524.68 hectares and is home to over 245,000 residents or about 16 percent of Caloocan’s total population.
Teh explained that, at present, there is no public market in Phase 2. Instead, the center of the district houses a flea market of sorts with vendors taking over the sidewalks in the area.
The flea market is near a barangay outpost, a lying-in clinic, a church and a transport terminal which makes it convenient for residents to get to and from their houses. However, at times, vendors block even the roads and the entrance to the transport terminal, leading to heavy traffic in the area.
“The public market we are planning to construct this time will be in this downtown area as well. The city government decided to build this building that would house all the vendors in the area, preventing them from impeding the flow of traffic,” Teh said. “This way, we can also monitor the quality of the products they sell.”
She added that the city council was now meeting with individual sectors to properly explain the advantages of the project.
“We have already explained the project to the transport sector who first thought we would build another public market in addition to the flea market, which would mean more traffic jams for them. But now, that they understand our plan [and] they support it,” Teh said.
The council will next meet with other groups, including health workers assigned to the lying-in clinic near the proposed market.
“Of course, we will enforce strict sanitary regulations on the market. We understand the health workers’ concerns and we are also considering the welfare of their patients. We might just transfer the lying-in clinic because of that,” Teh said.
The planned public market is among the first infrastructure projects and part of the P1.2 billion investment plan of Mayor Oscar Malapitan.