CDC TACKLES P4.5B BAGUIO MARKET DEVELOPMENT PLAN

February 22, 2025 Headlines

BAGUIO CITY

The City Development Council (CDC) has started discussing the proposed redevelopment of the Baguio City public market worth more than P4 billion under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) program. After the initial public
consultation on Feb. 20 at the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center, the city council through a committee led by
Councilor Jose Molintas has referred the proposal of SM Prime Holdings Inc., holder of the original proponent status (OPS), to the CDC, which initially discussed on Feb. 21 the proposal.

Sources said the CDC has agreed in principle the proposed redevelopment plan but deferred further discussion on the matter pending submission by the OPS holder of other requirements. Part of the PPP process is the issuance by the CDC secretariat of a certificate of completeness of documents submitted by the OPS holder as a requirement for further discussion and for confirmation of the proposal before it will be referred back to the city council. If the CDC finally confirms the proposal, the city council has 120 days to act on the proposal. Inaction on the part of the city council within the 120-day period would mean the proposal is good as approved.

If the proposed redevelopment of the city public market has been approved at the city council level, it will be subjected to a “Swiss challenge”, which allow other interested parties to participate by challenging the offer of the OPS holder. In the public hearing, city officials led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong and members of the city council chaired by Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan have clarified the market redevelopment proposal is not a done deal yet.
In the proposal, the city public market situated within a 3.9-hectare prime lot in the central business district will
have an eight-level parking area, a three-level retail area, a four-level market area, and a temporary relocation site for vendors to be displaced during the construction process.

The major concerns that the proposed redevelopment project aim to address include improving parking and
accessibility; eliminate risks and fire hazard; better waste management; sustainable infrastructure like rainwater
harvesting and potential solar power system; and additional revenue generation for the city government. In the consultation, a group of vendors claimed the city government is financially capable to implement the proposed project, even as it claimed it might join the Swiss challenge.

Another resident expressed hope the OPS holder will be as transparent when negotiating with the PPP selection committee and to the city council, as they are now representing the general public. The public consultation was closely monitored by the PPP Center through its representative, Atty. Cyris Ann Ng-Santiago, director of the Capacity Building and Knowledge Management Service, who acknowledged that the presentation by the city’s Local Economic and Investment Unit of the PPP program is easily understood by the general public.

with reports of Daniel Mangoltong/ UB-Intern