Baguio council wants city market masterplan to be used by prospective developers

BAGUIO CITY –– The 2019 masterplan for modernizing the Baguio City Public Market must be used by prospective developers, the City Council ruled on Monday, July 13, after it agreed to tap public-private partnerships (PPP) to build a modern market.

Following two weeks of intense debates, the councilors heeded the revelation made by the city finance committee that using Baguio funds to construct the P6-billion market would be devastating for the summer capital, as the local economy comes to grips with the long term impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

The council originally adopted a market plan prepared by volunteer architects, engineers, and civic leaders at the behest of Mayor Benjamin Magalong last year.

The plan would have put up four integrated buildings, each dedicated to a market staple such as a vegetable building and a Baguio crafts building.

The mayor has set out to finance the project using P4 billion of the city’s funds and a P2-billion loan.

But in June, City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña requested the council to withdraw or amend the market resolution due to findings that Baguio would be unable to shoulder the cost.

The city budget office says allocating P4 billion would disrupt Baguio operations and public services. Should it secure a loan for the market project, the Baguio government would have to give up its 20-percent development fund to pay for its annual bank obligations.

A summary of Baguio’s options says the city can generate as much as P10 billion in net revenues across 20 years if it spends or borrows money to build the new market buildings. But this would be earned at the expense of more lucrative projects which the city government would have to give up, the finance committee says.

The committee says Baguio may generate close to P7 billion in net income across 20 years under a PPP lease arrangement. The city could earn up to P6 billion under a PPP joint venture deal.

Small income

Baguio collects P24 million annually from market rent. It charges vendors as much as P11 per square-meter of stall space.

During the July 6 session of the council, Magalong emphasized that the city is braced for a drop in taxes this year and in 2021 because of the pandemic. “We may not be able to raise P2 billion next year,” the mayor said.

The government has been reviewing two unsolicited proposals for a modern market, which were pitched before the pandemic by two shopping mall giants, he told the council.

One of the mall developers offered to build a 7-floor multipurpose market building for the city under a 50-year lease. The other developer proposed to build a separate market for the vendors and a second mall building, also under a 50-year lease.

But the council said it prefers the design and scope of the masterplan overseen by Councilor Mylene Yaranon, an architect. It was prepared by a technical working group, had acquired the support of Baguio’s 3,000 vendors, and is the product of public consultations.

The four buildings honor the city’s Ibaloy heritage and would blend with the rest of downtown Baguio, said Yaranon, daughter of the late mayor Braulio Yaranon.

The market redevelopment project would have been undertaken in four stages, concluding in 2023. Each building would rise up to five stories, taking a cue from the community’s preference for low-density structures.

Edited by LZB