BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) tasked the City Council Committee on Market, Trade, Commerce and Agriculture and the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) to make the necessary representations with the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) for the crafting of a ‘win-win solution’ in the proposed demolition of the stalls erected within the jurisdiction of the Camp 7 satellite market.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the City Council Committee headed by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. and CBAO technical people led by City Building Official Engr. Nazita F. Bañez should schedule the needed consultations with concerned DPWH-BCDEO officials to agree on a possible ‘win-win solution’ that will prevent the eventual eviction of the satellite market vendors and the dismantling of the satellite market stalls and structures which were built using public funds during the previous administrations.
Earlier, concerned vendors situated in the Camp 7 satellite market sought the help of city officials to prevent them from evicted from the existing satellite market and the dismantling of the structures allegedly erected on the road-right-of-way of Kennon road considering that they already received demolition orders from the agency because of the upcoming implementation of the widening project that will affect the city-funded satellite market.
Domogan ordered designated city representatives to look into the possibility that the structures be instead moved back instead of being demolished to allow the vendors in the area to continue doing business for their livelihood aside from helping decongest the city’s public market.
Councilor Yangot informed the affected vendors that the designated city representatives are working on a definite schedule with the DPWH-BCDEO personnel to initially discuss ways how to effectively and efficiently address the problem with the least inconvenience to the concerned stakeholders in the satellite market.
He added that the DPWH-BCDEO must also consider the funds used to construct the Camp 7 satellite market were public funds thus the need to consider the best available option when the agency implements the widening project to guarantee the least possible impact to the vendors doing business in the said public facility.
“We will try to exert all possible efforts to make sure that the agency’s widening project will have the least impact to the Camp 7 satellite market because the structure was built through the use of public funds aside from the fact that the operation of satellite markets around the city is one of the major thrusts of the local government to help decongest the city public market ,” Yangot stressed.
Some of the affected vendors signified their intention to voluntarily remove portions of their stalls that might have encroached on Kennon Road’s right-of-way so that their structures will not be totally demolished to continue their businesses.
By Dexter A. See
